ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday declared that women are not equal to men and launched a bitter attack against feminists in Turkey, claiming they reject the concept of motherhood.
Speaking at a summit in Istanbul on justice for women, the devoutly Muslim president said that biological differences between women and men meant they cannot serve the same functions in life.
“Our religion (Islam) has defined a position for women (in society): motherhood,” Erdogan told an audience of Turkish women including his own daughter Sumeyye.
“Some people can understand this, while others can’t. You cannot explain this to feminists because they don’t [not] 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 went on to say that women and men cannot be treated equally “because it is against human nature."
“Their characters, habits and physiques are different… You cannot place a mother breastfeeding her baby on an equal footing with men.
“You cannot get women to do every kind of work men can do, as in Communist regimes.
“You cannot tell them to go out and dig the soil. This is against their delicate nature."
What does he do for the women in his country who are not married, because these very “superior” men don’t want to marry these women and make them mothers? I have been looking for a spouse now for a couple of years, no luck, and where would a girl like me be in his world view?
Islam is Islam, and yes there is ample evidence that motherhood is valued. It’s also very valued in the west, he needs to meet some of my white girlfriends who will put desi moms to shame. Last I checked, going to a white party, you don’t see kids violently fighting each other, running around, yelling and creating a loud unruly environment. Nope, that’s usually the scene at a masjid. Muslims have no idea what the eff motherhood is. It was in Medina and Mecca that we ran into two arab kids who were absolutely obscene to the worshippers there - one kid was spitting on people for fun, and his mom was watching the entire time (decked in heavy gold she was, but zero class), and another was a Pakistani kid, family from a village in Pakistan and the mom was coddling her son while he sprawled out in front of worshippers trying to do sajda. My mom ended up picking the kid up and shoving him at his mom, because that’s what you end up having to do in the Haram with these kids.
So…motherhood is not exclusively an Islamic concept, sorry. It’s not even properly practiced by those who claim to follow the faith. Just enter the blogs here, and you’ll see many a mom showcasing her ridiculous motherhood talents by more coddling and spoiling. Rare to see anyone discipline their kids, and work on their schooling.
I did not see anywhere he degraded or insulted women. There are biological differences, and keeping those differences in mind will keep the respect in line
Except he should have added something about women have equal rights to education and economic activity. We may be biologically different, but not every woman becomes a mom, just naturally speaking. Some women don’t get married at all. Others lose their husbands and become widows. Others get divorces. Some have miscarriages and never make it to motherhood. Some are flat out infertile.
“You cannot get women to do every kind of work men can do, as in Communist regimes.
You cannot tell them to go out and dig the soil. This is against their delicate nature."
Where in this statement did he say that women cannot or should not work, period?
He needs to have mentioned that women who are interested in careers, he welcomes them and promotes their education and work and contributions to his country. Turkey is a progressive muslim country and the women there are very active and relatively more educated than elsewhere in other muslim countries. He should thank his people for that , that their women are educated and raise decent normalized well-adjusted muslims, rather than nutjobs who like to blow up crap, like our naujawan (sarcastic mashallah).
If anyone tells me muslim women have made good mothers, and that is what Islam tells us is motherhood is priority, I am gonna go A-wall on them. What motherhood? Look around, is this the **** that muslim mothers have raised?
He has pointed out to physical/biological and emotional differences in men and women. Whats wrong in that? Its an obvious fact even in western world. Women are different than men in nature (that does not mean any lesser) and due to their nature, thought process etc etc, they can do some things better than men and men can do some things better than them.
Problem would be if he says that men has more rights to education, work, sports etc etc over women or that they should not be allowed to go out of house without the consent of men.
i don’t see anything wronmg with what he said. he did NOT demean a woman. actually, he said something to respect women what they are and don’t expect them to do things that Allah did NOT design her for.
The answer to question as to if men and women are equal depends on your mindset, your background, your upbringing, your religion, your culture. It also depend if you see glass half or full. It will also depend on if you are blind and trying to tell what an elephant looks like by just touching its various body parts or if you have functioning eyes and you can see whole elephant.
If you want to see complete picture then train your brain to see the complete picture.
Women and men are equal because:
They have same kind of emotions:
Affection Anger Angst Anguish Annoyance Anxiety Apathy Arousal Awe Boredom Confidence Contempt Contentment Courage Curiosity Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Distrust Dread Ecstasy Embarrassment Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Gratitude Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Hope Horror Hostility Hurt Hysteria Indifference Interest Jealousy Joy Loathing Loneliness Love Lust Outrage Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Relief Remorse Sadness Satisfaction Schadenfreude Self-confidence Shame Shock Shyness Sorrow Suffering Surprise Terror Trust Wonder Worry Zeal Zest
They have same instincts:
Sustenance, Sex,Defence, Sociality, Know/Lean, Communicate.
They share similar physiology and anatomy, here similar is the key word differences are outlined below.
They are ordained with same number of senses , smell, touch, taste, sight, hearing.
They manifest same behavior under same conditions.
and so on so forth.
A woman has greater constitutional vitality, perhaps because of her unique chromosomal pattern. Normally, she outlives a man by three or four years in the U.S. Females simply have a stronger hold on life than males, even in the uterus. More than 140 male babies are conceived for every 100 females; by the time birth occurs, the ratio is 105 to 100, with the rest of the males dying in spontaneous abortions.1
Men have a higher incidence of death from almost every disease except three: benign tumors, disorders related to female reproduction, and breast cancer.2
Men have a higher rate of basal metabolism than women.3
The sexes differ in skeletal structure, women having a shorter head, broader face, less protruding chin, shorter legs, and longer trunk. The first finger of a woman’s hand is usually longer than the third; with men the reverse is true. Boys’ teeth last longer than do those of girls.4
Women have a larger stomach, kidneys, liver, and appendix, and smaller lungs than men.5
Women have three very important physiological functions totally absent in men–menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation. Each of these mechanisms influences behavior and feelings significantly. Female hormonal patterns are more complex and varied. The glands work differently in the two sexes. For example, a woman’s thyroid is larger and more active; it enlarges during menstruation and pregnancy, which makes her more prone to goiter, provides resistance to cold, and is associated with the smooth skin, relatively hairless body, and the thin layer of subcutaneous fat that are important elements in the concept of personal beauty. Women are also more responsive emotionally, laughing and crying more readily.6
Women’s blood contains more water (20 percent fewer red cells). Since red cells supply oxygen to the body, she tires more easily and is more prone to faint. Her constitutional viability is therefore strictly a long-range matter. When the working day in British factories, under wartime conditions, was increased from ten to twelve hours, accidents among women increased 150 percent; the rate of accidents among men did not increase significantly.7
Men are 50 percent stronger than women in brute strength.8
Women’s hearts beat more rapidly than those of men (80 versus 72 beats per minute). Their blood pressure (ten points lower than men) varies more from minute to minute, but they have much less tendency to high blood pressure–at least until after menopause.9
Female lung capacity is about 30 percent less than in males.10
Women can withstand high temperatures better than men because their metabolism slows down less.11
Men and women differ in every cell of their bodies because they carry a differing chromosomal pattern. The implications of those genetic components range from obvious to extremely subtle. For example, when researchers visited high school and college campuses to study behavior of the sexes, they observed that males and females even transported their books in different ways. The young men tended to carry them at their sides with their arms looped over the top. Women and girls, by contrast, usually cradled their books at their breasts, in much the same way they would a baby.12
He could say “You cannot get men to multi-task like women do. You cannot get men to manage things with perseverance like women do. You cannot get men to find the strength women do to withstand child bearing pain” etc etc.
It’s not what he said. It’s what he didn’t say or how he said it. When you cannot get someone to do something that some other group can that automatically puts one group in “incapable” category compared to other group.
Anyway. In this day and age it’s proven that women are superior to men in almost every field. haaN men are still stronger physically than women..but then again we don’t need lion of a man to go out and hunt deer for us anymore. We gather food by shopping at shoprite and trust me, women are actually better at that.
^ he did not say what you wanted him to say, because he was talking to feminists, so his tone and choice of words are relevant to the intended audience.
And I am amazed that you think that jobs that require physical strengths are no longer present. Construction, farming, machinery manufacturing and repair, battle fields, professional sports, long distance shipping business … they all require physical strengths that most women are not cut for.
No, he didn’t say what he should have said if he’s not a misogynist..which he is. by picking out obscure examples which are not even relevant in this day and age he tried to put women down. this is like talking about trees and saying well, trees can be dangerous because if they fall down on you you can die. Really? of all the things you could talk about tree you’d choose something of lesser importance? How about fruits? them green planet related benefits? oxygen?
Really? You don’t see women basketball/wrestling/baseball teams? You have never seen a farmer lady? Strange. Most of the farms nearby actually have more women than men. And last I checked there are thousands of women in the army, manufacturing etc. You don’t see them?
I see them, but the percentage is same as the percentage of men in elementary school teaching, modeling, and in health care related fields.
BTW, about processional sports; sorry to say but women participation is just token and for the sake of political correctness maybe. Professional Sports is an industry, and real money is where the male dominance is, whether you like it or not.
