Turkey's First Lady Calls For Women Empowerment

Emine Erdogan, the wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday stressed the importance of ensuring that women in various fields have unfettered access to ample better opportunities

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd October, 2021) Emine Erdogan, the wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday stressed the importance of ensuring that women in various fields have unfettered access to ample better opportunities.

In particular, she urged policies that would provide more learning and working options for women.

"As you know, development was evaluated only in the economic framework in the past. However, today we know that development is directly related to social and individual welfare," Erdogan told the Turkey-Africa Economic and business Forum, held in Istanbul from Thursday through Friday, as quoted by the Anadolu Agency.

Global solidarity is the key to reaching such global objectives as environment protection, gender equality, and the end of poverty, as well as economic development, and the improvement of quality of life, the first lady said.

She underlined the role of women in Africa, saying that nearly the whole food output on the continent is their responsibility. In addition, some 70% of agriculture works in Africa are carried out by women, Erdogan noted.

The Turkey-Africa Economic and Business Forum has been held annually since 2016, serving as a platform to strengthen the partnership between Turkey and African nations in various business-related sectors, including agriculture, energy, innovation, and overall economic growth.