Turkey's first lady calls for reforms to unleash full potential of women

ISTANBUL

Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan stressed the need for reforms to realize the full potential of women.

In a video message for the 12th Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul, she said the economic and political empowerment of women will improve justice in the world.

The two-day summit, organized by the International Cooperation Platform (ICP), started on Monday.

The summit will cover a wide range of issues, including international economic relations, Islamic finance investing, innovation, and aviation sustainability.​​​​​​​

The first lady underlined that the prospect of a better world is a multidimensional issue, which requires efforts in many areas ranging from economy to politics, and from culture to environment.

She said that there have been rapid changes in the world due to the pandemic.

“This rapid change shows itself in all areas of life, we should not wait to see what the future will bring, but shape the future so that everyone can live fairly,” she added.

Right time to fight for women's rights

In her speech, Manal Abdel-Samad, Lebanon’s former information minister, said the pandemic has left women worse off with gender parity inadvertently endangered.

Referring to an Oxfam report, she said women lost more than 64 million jobs worldwide, which amounts to $800 billion.

“The entire global economy will be suffering. Second, if governments deprive their communities of adequate funds to ensure vital public services, women will be the first losers.”

She also said it is the right time to fight for women's rights and the world can use taxation as a major means to realize this objective.

“Tax policies aimed chiefly at encouraging investments that promote economic growth and sustainable development without considering the extent of which these policies are widening the gender equality gap,” she said.

In fact, she added, gender inequality in taxation usually mirrors the fundamental social patterns and beliefs in each society.

“What this means is that no country can work on advancing women in business without filling the gender gap in society,” she concluded.