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]
More Must-Reads From TIME
- LGBTQ Reality TV Takes on a Painful Moment
- Column: How the World Must Respond to AI
- What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means for Student Loan Borrowers
- India’s Female Wrestlers Are Saying #MeToo
- 7 Ways to Get Better at Small Talk
- Florence Pugh Might Just Save the Movie Star From Extinction
- The End of Succession
- Scientists Get Closer to Harnessing Solar Power From Space
