Turkey's president has labeled women as "incomplete" and "deficient" if they failed to bear an offspring. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's recent controversial remarks aim to encourage women to have children through his statements to increase Turkey's birth rate.
Erdoğan urges women to have at least three children, The Guardian reported (via Agence France-Presse). The president added that he supports females who are competitive in their careers. However, Erdoğan also thinks that having a career and a professional life shouldn't hinder a woman's ability to have children.
According to the president, renouncing motherhood means "giving up on humanity," the news outlet further reported. Erdoğan said that family planning and contraception don't suit Islam's teachings.
Feminists And Women's Rights Activists Fire Back
Erdoğan's statements have sparked outrage among feminists and women's rights activists. In his past remarks, he said birth control is a form of "treason" that threatens a country's population, according to a separate report from The Guardian. Erdoğan said that Turkey's government has great ambitions and those will be attained if every member of the country will contribute.
A group called Platform to Stop Violence Against Women said Erdoğan's remarks come straight out "of the Middle Ages," the news outlet added. The group argued Erdoğan has no right to seize their right to access contraception.
Turkey's cabinet under Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was also criticized by activists for its lack of women officials. Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya is the only female minister in the family and social policy ministry, a post which has been always offered to a woman.
Turkey's Population Rate
Turkey's population has already increased to around 78 million in 2015, which is a 1.3 percent growth rate. In 2000, the nation's population went below 68 million.
Didem Daniş, an associate professor at the sociology department of Galatasaray University in Istanbul, said Turkey has one of the fastest-aging populations in the whole world, the Hurriyet Daily News reported. By 2023, 10.2 percent of the country's population will be composed of people aged 65 years old and above. That aging rate was only at 7.7 percent in 2013, and 8.2 percent last year.
The Turkish government is giving 300 Turkish liras ($102) to married couples who have their first offspring, 400 liras ($136) for the second child and 600 liras ($205) for the third. This way, couples will be more motivated to produce children and boost Turkey's fertility rate numbers. Turkey is also planning to pay mothers' part-time work in full after their maternity leave, which lasts for 16 weeks.
