Turkey’s President Says Women Without Children Are ‘Incomplete’

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that women who abstain from bearing children are “lacking” and “incomplete” the local Hurriyet Daily News reports. He made the remarks to Turkey’s Women and Democracy Association in Istanbul on Sunday.

While claiming to support women who pursue careers, he added, “I certainly do not accept the business world becoming an alternative for maternity.”

He also equated the rejection of motherhood with the denial of femininity and the loss of freedom.

The Turkish leader’s comments dovetail with his remarks last week condemning birth control for Muslim families, and his speech in March on International Women’s Day, when he proclaimed that “above all else” women are mothers.

[Hurriyet]