Erdogan: Women are not equal to men

[Savonarola]

Yes, yes, but can he wrestle a bear?

Turkey president Erdogan: Women are not equal to men

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said women cannot be treated as equal to men, and has accused feminists of rejecting motherhood.

"You cannot put women and men on an equal footing," he told a meeting in Istanbul. "It is against nature."

He also said feminists did not grasp the importance of motherhood in Islam.

His comments often seek to appeal to his pious core supporters, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul, but they anger more liberal voters.

Turks who have more secular views argue that the government's social policies are taking the country in a dangerous direction, our correspondent says.

Mr Erdogan has previously urged women to have three children, and has lashed out against abortion and birth by Caesarean section.

'Delicate nature'
His latest remarks were delivered at a women's conference in Istanbul.

"In the workplace, you cannot treat a man and a pregnant woman in the same way," Mr Erdogan said, according to the Anatolia news agency.

Women cannot do all the work done by men, he added, because it was against their "delicate nature".

"Our religion regards motherhood very highly," he said. "Feminists don't understand that, they reject motherhood."

He said women needed equal respect rather than equality.

Mr Erdogan also told the Istanbul meeting that justice was the solution to most of the world's issues - including racism, anti-Semitism, and "women's problems".

The Turkish leader often courts controversy with his statements.

Earlier this month, he claimed that Muslims had discovered the Americas more than 300 years before Christopher Colombus.

In his 11 years as prime minister, Mr Erdogan became a crucial player in regional politics.

However, his reputation has suffered recently over the crisis in Syria, and accusations of authoritarianism.

He's lashed out against birth by Caesarean section?   

Anyhow was Erdogan always this kooky, and the Western media is only now starting to report this; or is this a new, vibrant direction for the Turkish leader?

[Caliga]

If it's about Turkey but has nothing to do with Turkish Star Wars or being Ottoman Empire, I'm not interested.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Anyhow was Erdogan always this kooky, and the Western media is only now starting to report this; or is this a new, vibrant direction for the Turkish leader?

couldn't say if it was either a or b, but the reporting of the loonyness has gone up.
the fact that Turks keep re-electing that loonybin is a nice vindication of those that said that Turkey should remain outside the EU. We've got enough loonybins as it is without needing an islamist trojan horse of that size and crazyness

[Razgovory]

Well there are lots of crazy secessionist nationalists In Europe, I think an anti-secessionist might balance things out.

[Syt]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/24/turkeys-president-recep-tayyip-erdogan-women-not-equal-men

Grauniad has more direct quotes from his rambling:

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been accused of blatant sexism after declaring that women are not equal to men and claiming feminists in Turkey reject the idea of motherhood.

The devoutly Muslim president said biological differences meant women and men could not serve the same functions, adding that manual work was unsuitable for the "delicate nature" of women.

His comments ignited a firestorm of controversy on Twitter and one well-known female TV news anchor even took the unusual step of condemning the remarks during a bulletin.

"Our religion [Islam] has defined a position for women: motherhood," Erdoğan said at a summit in Istanbul on justice for women, speaking to an audience including his own daughter Sumeyye.

"Some people can understand this, while others can't. You cannot explain this to feminists because they don't accept the concept of motherhood."

He recalled: "I would kiss my mother's feet because they smelled of paradise. She would glance coyly and cry sometimes.

"Motherhood is something else," he said, claiming that it should be a woman's priority because Islam exalts women as mothers.

He went on to say that women and men could not be treated equally "because it goes against the laws of nature".

"Their characters, habits and physiques are different ... You cannot place a mother breastfeeding her baby on an equal footing with men.

"You cannot make women work in the same jobs as men do, as in communist regimes. You cannot give them a shovel and tell them to do their work. This is against their delicate nature."

Erdoğan was apparently referring to the practice during and after the second world war for women in communist states such as the USSR to do heavy manual work in factories or in roles such as tram drivers.

He complained that in previous decades in Turkey women in Anatolian villages had done the back-breaking work while their menfolk idled away the time.

"Wasn't it the case in Anatolia? Our poor mothers suffered immensely and got hunchbacks while the men were playing cards and rolling dice at teahouses," he said.

"What women need is to be able to be equivalent, rather than equal. Because equality turns the victim into an oppressor and vice versa."

Erdoğan, 60, has been married since 1978 to his wife Emine, with whom he has two sons and two daughters.

Aylin Nazliaka, an MP from the main opposition Republican People's party said Erdoğan "ostracised" women by portraying them as delicate, weak and powerless and limiting their role to motherhood.

"Erdoğan has publicly committed a hate crime ... But I will continue to fight this man who sees no difference between terrorists and feminists," she said in a written statement.

Sule Zeybek, an anchorwoman at the Turkish broadcaster Kanal D, hit back at Erdoğan's comments live on television during a news bulletin.

"I am a feminist and thank God I'm a mum. I wouldn't kiss my mother's feet but I have great respect for her," she said.

The Islamic-rooted government of Erdoğan has long been accused by critics of seeking to erode the country's secular principles and limiting the civil liberties of women.

Erdoğan has drawn the ire of feminist groups for declaring that every woman in Turkey should have three children and with proposals to limit abortion rights, the morning-after pill and caesarean sections.

Seen by critics as increasingly authoritarian, he has repeatedly lashed out personally at female journalists who displeased him.

But the government's attitude towards women came under even greater scrutiny after the deputy prime minister, Bülent Arinç, caused a furore in August by suggesting women should not laugh loudly in public.

Activists also say that government officials' remarks about women and how they should be treated leave them exposed to violence. According to non-governmental organisations, more than 200 women in Turkey died as a result of domestic violence in the first six months of 2014.

Did we have a thread about his new presidential palace? It was built into a preserved park/forest. The courts declared the construction illegal. Erdogan replied, "Just try and stop me." The thing has reportedly over 1,000 rooms.

[Valmy]

All these centuries later and ego-maniacs are still trying to copy Versailles.

[Syt]

All those reports from Turkey and about Erdogan's behavior lead me to the conclusion that he's not very happy with the size and/or performance record of his genitalia.

[Martinus]

Called it years ago. But everyone was so excited about the exotic moderate Muslim government.

[Razgovory]

Called it years ago. But everyone was so excited about the exotic moderate Muslim government.

Has he declared that theocracy you called?  I don't see that actually occurring.

[Martinus]

Called it years ago. But everyone was so excited about the exotic moderate Muslim government.

Has he declared that theocracy you called?  I don't see that actually occurring.

Do you read anything about modern Turkey outside of this forum?

[Razgovory]

Called it years ago. But everyone was so excited about the exotic moderate Muslim government.

Has he declared that theocracy you called?  I don't see that actually occurring.

Do you read anything about modern Turkey outside of this forum?

I ask you again, has he declared a theocracy?  Yes or No?

[Eddie Teach]

Did Marty actually say he would? That's a bold prediction considering even Iran has elections.

[Martinus]

Did Marty actually say he would? That's a bold prediction considering even Iran has elections.

Yeah. I don't argue with Raz because it is so fucking pointless.

[Valmy]

I ask you again, has he declared a theocracy?  Yes or No?

You have to excuse Raz.  Anything that offends his good buddy Erdogan sends him rushing to the rescue.

[Duque de Bragança]

So it was not a muslim woman who discovered America, but a muslim man. Makes sense.