Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that women should certainly be involved in all issues in the world. But first of all, women should unite forces in their own struggle and overcome the obstacles before their rights, added Erdogan who spoke at the opening of International Istanbul Women Convention at Istanbul Congress Center on Friday.
Erdogan said that they wanted women and men to have the basic rights and to be equal in this aspect. He added that they considered this issue as a humanity matter more than a requirement of democracy and modernity.
Noting that women rights issue was not only the issue of women but it was a matter of everybody who valued human, Erdogan said that they believed that women’s role and status should be improved in every area and they should undertake important missions.
Erdogan said that the struggle of western world’s women for an “equal pay for equal work” was important and Turkey was supporting this, however, women in Pakistan were struggling for their lives against poverty.
I wonder how much women in developed countries supported the women in Pakistan, said Erdogan, adding that he would like to remind that women in Afghanistan and Africa were struggling for their lives.
Erdogan noted that the fight of women against gender discrimination in democratic countries had certainly a vital importance, but women in Iraq had not yet focused on gender discrimination, and they even could not be successful in their struggle to hold on life.
We will be pleased to see more women to be active in politics, local administrations, business world, education, culture and sports, said Erdogan.
He noted that the government in one hand developed and improved the country, and on the other hand increased the life standards of women, adding that the government supported women with positive discrimination.
AA