Equal opportunities ‘needed’ for women

LONDON - Doğan News Agency

Doğan TV Holding Chairwoman Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ (L) and Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin (R) chat before the conference. AA Photo

Equal opportunities should be presented to women in order to ensure their contribution to all aspects of life, Doğan TV Holding Chairwoman Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ said recently during a London conference.

“It should be ensured that women take on more roles in all aspects of life by giving them equal opportunities in the field of education,” said Doğan Yalçındağ at the “Women and Power in the Middle East” conference of the prestigious Chatham House.

Doğan Yalçındağ added that only after providing women with proper education opportunities could they be fully included in economic, social and political life. “When a family can only afford to educate one child, it is always the son that is chosen,” Doğan Yalçındağ said. “And the decision is made by the mother herself. We need to educate women to get rid of such prejudices.” Women today still still suffer from injustices, Doğan Yalçındağ said, adding that such problems were universal in their nature; however, they were even more strongly felt in the Middle East. “These problems can only be solved through the alteration of economic and social norms.”

Justice for everyone

Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin also attended the event as a guest speaker. Şahin said the role of women was especially vital in the region, adding that only the revolutions that were supported by women had thrived in history.

“Justice should be asked for everyone. The world needs peace, love and empathy. And to achieve that we need the cooperation of women,” Şahin said. Şahin also mentioned Turkey’s role in the region, defining the country as a “role model” for the other countries in the region.