First Lady Erdoğan: Strong woman is a concept too broad to be reduced to a single lifestyle

The 1st High Honorary Board Meeting of the Organization of Turkish States (TDT) Family and Women's Council, titled "From Solidarity to Institutional Cooperation: Family and Women in the Turkic World", was held at Çankaya Mansion, hosted by First Lady Erdoğan.

The meeting, organized with the aim of transforming the common will in the field of family and women in the Turkish world into a permanent cooperation, was attended by the spouses of the leaders who came to Ankara for the 13th TDT Heads of State and Government Summit, the Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş and the high-level representatives of the countries.

First Lady Erdoğan cordially welcomed Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, wife of Uzbekistan President Şevket Mirziyoyev, Aygül Caparova, wife of Kyrgyz President Sadır Caparov, and Nilden Bektaş Erhürman, wife of TRNC President Tufan Erhürman, who came to Çankaya Mansion to attend the meeting.

After taking a family photo, the leaders' wives went to the hall where the meeting would be held.

"WE INTEND TO BRING A NEW DIMENSION TO THE TURKISH WORLD 2040 VISION"

In her speech at the meeting, First Lady Erdoğan expressed her happiness to be together with the spouses of the leaders in Ankara on the occasion of the 13th Summit of TDT.

Stating that the Turkish world is a very big family with common history, culture, identity and civilization values, Erdoğan said that he hosted his brothers, not his guests, and thanked each of them for their participation.

Reminding that they have carried out important collaborations in many fields from economy to energy, from culture to technology under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States, Erdoğan stated that they have demonstrated their will to shape the common future together with the Turkic World 2040 Vision and now they intend to add a new dimension to this vision.

Explaining that one of the most important features of the age is that the world is getting closer to each other than ever before, Erdoğan stated that the same technologies are used and the same global developments are affected.

Pointing out that the results of digital, economic and social transformations are experienced all together without exception, Erdoğan said, "We are witnessing that a trend that is popular in a small town of a distant country can influence the whole world within minutes. Societies are becoming more and more uniform and losing their authentic texture. Even though we live under the same sky, each society looks at the horizon of its own civilization. It creates a world consisting of its own history, culture and beliefs. All the values that make us who we are, from the meaning we attach to family to the dynamics of our social relations." It is shaped specifically for this world." he said.

"STRONG WOMAN IS TOO BROAD A CONCEPT THAT CANNOT BE REDUCED TO A SINGLE LIFESTYLE"

First Lady Erdoğan stated that, with globalization, the understandings and lifestyles of some societies are presented as if they were valid criteria for all humanity, and continued as follows:

"One of the most current examples of this is the discussions on women's issues. The idealized single type of woman is beginning to determine women's power, freedom, success and lifestyle. Women who fall outside these ready-made patterns lose their voices and visibility. Thus, approaches that promise to bring freedom, success and career to women become the biggest dilemma for women behind the scenes. For example, presenting motherhood and business life as mutually exclusive alternatives forces women to choose between family life and career. Women's success is measured by their professional positions, which is a big issue in family life. "Similarly, defining women only by their domestic roles prevents them from realizing their potential in science, politics, economy, public life and many other areas. However, being a strong woman is a concept that is too broad to be reduced to a single lifestyle. In short, our desire is a social order where women are not confined to imported patterns and can exist with their own values, talents and will."

Stating that great societies write their own stories with their own role models, Erdogan said that the historical experience of the Turkish world is extremely rich in this respect.

Erdoğan stated that Ibn Battuta, who traveled to the Turkish lands in the 14th century, wrote with admiration about the high position of women in society in his travelogue, and that Gevher Şad in the Timurid geography was a woman who left her mark on her period with the scientific and cultural institutions she founded as well as her political influence.

Stating that Kurmancan Datka, one of the most important female figures in Kyrgyz history, went down in the pages of history with her political leadership and diplomatic talent, Erdoğan said that when looking at the Istanbul foundation records dated 1546, it can be seen that 36 percent of the foundations were founded by women.

Reminding that women who produced solutions to social issues, directed the economy, and were engaged in crafts in Anatolia in the 13th century, organized and founded Bacıyan-ı Rum, First Lady Erdoğan said, "Remembering this heritage today has a meaning beyond being proud of the past. Of course, we cannot say that women have had equal opportunities in every period of our history. But we see that women having strong and active positions in social life is not an experience foreign to our geography of civilization. What we need to do is to integrate this experience into the cultural aspects of our societies." "To transform it into a perspective unique to the Turkish world, which coincides with its sensitivities, priorities and social realities." he said.

"THE DECREASE OF BIRTH RATES DRIVE THE FAMILY INTO DEPRESSION"

Pointing out that the modern world generally chooses indicators from areas such as economic growth, production capacity and technology when measuring the development of a society, Erdoğan stated that the real power of a society actually comes from the power of the family institution.

Explaining that families are the invisible castles of societies, Erdoğan continued his speech as follows:

"Fortunately, the family continues to be one of the strongest institutions of our society. The family sometimes becomes a school for children, a healing center for the sick, or a nursing home for the elderly. Many challenges of life are eliminated through family solidarity and family wisdom, without turning into a social problem. However, many factors such as social transformations, individualization, digitalization, and the decrease in birth rates are driving the family institution into a crisis. Another factor that fuels this crisis is that women's issues are handled independently of family life. "At this point, I think we need to create a social order where women are not torn between motherhood and business life, where family responsibilities are shared fairly and young people can easily start a family."

Reminding that Türkiye has developed family-friendly policies with this understanding and that under the leadership of President Erdoğan, 2025 has been determined as the "Year of the Family" and the period 2026-2035 as the "Decade of Family and Population", First Lady Erdoğan said, "We support women in areas such as education, entrepreneurship, employment and technology. We combat violence against women with the principle of 'zero tolerance'. As Türkiye, our approach is that every step that strengthens women and the family, "Development is a prerequisite for a sustainable future and social welfare." he said.

"WE AIM FOR OUR COUNCIL TO BE A PERMANENT COOPERATION GROUND"

Stating that he knows that these issues have an important place in the agenda of other leaders' spouses, Erdoğan said:

"Our countries have very valuable experiences to share with each other in these areas. These intentions form the intellectual basis of our Family and Women's Council, which we came together to establish today. We wish to have a platform of our own where we can produce solutions to common problems with common sense. We aim for our Council to be a permanent basis of cooperation. In this process, I wholeheartedly believe that you, the valued members of our High Honor Council, will support the work of our Council and embrace this common vision at the highest level. Today, we have taken the first steps of our Council together with you in Ankara. "I hope to hold the first official meeting of our Council at the 14th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, which will be held in Uzbekistan next year, hosted by my dear sister Ms. Ziroat."

Wishing that the Council would bring goodness to the Turkish world and all humanity, Erdoğan thanked the ministries of all member countries, especially the Ministry of Family and Social Services, and everyone who contributed to the process for their efforts.

First Lady Erdoğan said, "I hope our meeting will be productive. May God preserve our brotherhood and unity." he said.

LEADER'S WIVES ALSO SPOKE

Following Emine Erdoğan's speech, the wife of the President of Uzbekistan, Ziroat Mirziyoyeva, the wife of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Aygül Caparova, and the wife of the President of the TRNC, Nilden Bektaş Erhürman, also expressed their opinions on the subject in their speeches.

After the speeches of the leaders' wives, a session titled "Founding Ministers Session of the Organization of Turkish States Family and Women Council: Institutional Cooperation and Joint Steps" was held in order to transform the common will in the field of family and women in the Turkish world into concrete cooperation steps.

Relevant ministers of the countries made speeches at the session moderated by Minister of Family and Social Services Göktaş.

THEY VISITED THE EXHIBITION THAT CARRIED MARKS FROM THE TURKISH WORLD AND WATCHED THE FASHION SHOW

First Lady Erdoğan and the leader's spouses visited the "Maturation Institutes Exhibition" as part of the program.

The aesthetic richness and cultural meaning of traditional handicrafts were revealed in the exhibition, which included works selected from the collections of the Maturation Institutes affiliated with the General Directorate of Lifelong Learning of the Ministry of National Education.

The exhibition included 34 works from the weaving, embroidery, clothing, decorative arts and dowry traditions of the Turkish civilization, which came to life in the wide geography extending from Turkestan to Anatolia.

Expressing that they liked the clothes they examined closely, the wives of the leaders explained to each other the similarities of the clothes with the clothes in their own culture.

After serving Turkish coffee, the leaders' wives watched the fashion show where the clothes prepared by the Maturation Institutes were exhibited.

At the fashion show, traces of Anatolia's deep-rooted clothing and decoration culture and the traditional clothing of the Turkish world were presented to the guests.

While the collection featured clothes inspired by the original details of Anatolia's traditional clothing and wedding dresses, works reflecting the traditional clothing culture of the Turkish world and examples of Ottoman palace women's clothing were also included.

Among the exhibited works were wedding dresses inspired by the traditional clothing cultures of CSA countries.

THEY TASTED THE FLAVORS OF TURKISH CUISINE

First Lady Erdoğan and the leaders' wives went to lunch after the program.

Guest leader spouses tasted the flavors prepared by Chef Çiğdem Seferoğlu and reflected Turkish gastronomy, and had the opportunity to get to know Turkish cuisine closely.

At the dinner, where tenor Murat Karahan gave a stage performance, the guests were served unique delicacies, including vine leaf immigrant bread, sour pirpirim salad, crispy Urla artichokes with peas, plain oily firik pilaf and smoked yoghurt, hazelnut shekerpare and basil sherbet.

The leaders' wives ate at a special table designed inspired by the common history of the Turkish states, their deep-rooted cultural heritage and their strong ties that have existed for centuries.

The special copper installation, located in the center of the table dominated by turquoise color, symbolized the common roots of the Turkish world and the unity arising from these roots.

The motifs originating from a single point and extending in different directions, branching and flowering, represented the richness, development and continuity of the Turkish states, nourished by a common cultural heritage.

The cords passing through the embroidery and connecting them were designed as a symbol of cultural ties, solidarity and unity that have survived throughout history.

EMINE ERDOĞAN'S CLOTHING CHOICE FROM SOF FABRIC

The outfit worn by First Lady Erdoğan in the program, designed with sof fabric obtained from Angora goat mohair, attracted attention.

The pattern on the outfit, prepared at the Ankara Governorship Iz Ankara Design and Crafts Center, was handcrafted using 100 percent mohair thread and the Chinese needle technique.