--- description: In a speech for International Women's Day title: Turkey's Erdogan Says 'A Woman Is Above All a Mother' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef3d224a622cca9/69888a152dce011a3f9e8172/erdogan-womens-rights-mother.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Turkey's Erdogan Says 'A Woman Is Above All a Mother' by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2016 3:37 PM CUT  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech marking the International Women's Day during the 21st Women Workers' Grand Convention of metal unions in capital Ankara, Turkey on March 08, 2016. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech marking the International Women's Day during the 21st Women Workers' Grand Convention of metal unions in capital Ankara, Turkey on March 08, 2016.Ahmet Izgi—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 8, 2016 3:37 PM CUT During [a speech marking International Women’s Day](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/31047400/turkeys-erdogan-says-women-are-above-all-mothers/ "undefined"), Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he believes “above all else” women are mothers. “I know there will be some who will be annoyed, but for me a woman is above all a mother,” Erdogan told told an audience of women in Ankara, reports _AFP_. He also urged the audience to “protect the family” and blamed the capitalist system for “enslaving” women for profits. “You cannot free women by destroying the notion of family,” said Erdogan. Erdogan’s views on women have long been [criticized by rights advocates](http://time.com/3901401/turkeys-election-women/ "undefined"). The Turkish president has previously said that [women are not equal to men](http://news.yahoo.com/erdogan-women-not-equal-men-141047433.html "undefined"), called the [promotion of birth control “treason,”](http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-turkey-birthcontrol-idUKKBN0K019520141222 "undefined") urged [Turkish women to have at least three children](http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pm-erdogan-reiterates-his-call-for-three-children.aspx?pageID=238&nid=38235 "undefined"), and [proposed limits to abortion rights and Caesarean sections.](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/08/recep-tayyip-erdogan-a-woman-is-above-all-else-a-mother-turkish-president "undefined") \[[AFP](https://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/31047400/turkeys-erdogan-says-women-are-above-all-mothers/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4250853/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-a-woman-is-above-all-a-mother/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4250853/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-a-woman-is-above-all-a-mother/"},"headline":"Turkey's Erdogan Says 'A Woman Is Above All a Mother'","datePublished":"2016-03-08T15:37:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:42:32.531Z","description":"In a speech for International Women's Day","url":"https://time.com/4250853/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-a-woman-is-above-all-a-mother/","keywords":["Turkey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef3d224a622cca9/69888a152dce011a3f9e8172/erdogan-womens-rights-mother.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8ef3d224a622cca9/69888a152dce011a3f9e8172/erdogan-womens-rights-mother.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech marking the International Women's Day during the 21st Women Workers' Grand Convention of metal unions in capital Ankara, Turkey on March 08, 2016.","caption":"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech marking the International Women's Day during the 21st Women Workers' Grand Convention of metal unions in capital Ankara, Turkey on March 08, 2016.","creditText":"Ahmet Izgi—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4250853/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-a-woman-is-above-all-a-mother/","name":"Turkey's Erdogan Says 'A Woman Is Above All a Mother'"}}]}] ```