Women 'most important heroes' of Türkiye's struggle to serve nation: President

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye has realized many projects about women to enhance their area of freedom, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"Over the course of our 40-year-long journey in politics, we have always walked shoulder to shoulder with our women ... We have always overcome the obstacles raised before us and the attacks that even reached the point of targeting our lives with the support of women.

"Today, I would like to underline once again that women are the most important heroes of our struggle to serve our country and nation," Erdogan said at a meeting with women's societies in Istanbul.

Türkiye has expanded the areas of freedom, employment and representation of women without any discrimination, he stressed.

"We have increased the rate of women completing at least one level of education from 70% to 88%. We have increased women in employment from 6 million to 10.5 million," Erdogan said.

The president added that the efforts and labor of women contributed to Türkiye’s progress in all areas from economy to trade, from rights and freedoms to agriculture, tourism, education, and health.

- Diyarbakir mothers

Erdogan also hailed Diyarbakir mothers who continue their sit-in protest against the PKK terror group in southeastern Türkiye.

"I pay my respects to the mothers of Diyarbakir, who have been on the guard for months to take back their children that the separatist organization forcibly smuggled into the mountains," he said.

He added that the mothers defy terrorist organizations through their watch for their children.

The sit-in protest against the PKK terror group in southeastern Türkiye began in September 2019 in Diyarbakir, when three mothers said their children had been forcibly recruited by YPG/PKK terrorists.

The sit-in outside the offices of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) – a party currently facing a closure case, and which the government accuses of having links to the terrorist YPG/PKK – has been growing every day.

Demonstrations have also spread to other provinces, including Van, Mus, Sirnak, and Hakkari.