Family Minister Şahin joins dinner with businesswomen

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Hanzade Doğan Boyner speaks at a working dinner hosted by Minister Şahin. AA photo

Family and Social Minister Fatma Şahin attended a meeting on Feb. 25, accompanied by prominent businesswomen, emphasizing the contributions provided by women if they are given equal chances with their male counterparts.

“There is no such thing anymore as a woman doing this, or not being able to do that,” Şahin said. “When you give equal opportunities, there is now a strong will and decisiveness that can do anything.”

The upcoming days will be the time for women, she added. “Nothing happens on its own, and nothing is a coincidence. It either comes from scratch, or it keeps up a family legacy, which is also very vital. You have to carry on all those efforts. There is a great responsibility in that.”

Şahin said women constituted about eight percent of the world’s business leaders, and 12 percent in Turkey.

“This is how you achieve a strong society,” Şahin said. “No aim can be achieved without a strong society. We need to make our power visible and known to become the tenth largest economy in the world. We need to turn our stories into inspirations for the upcoming generations. We all have things to learn from life if we listen, and that’s where success is hidden.”

Şahin also added that she was the first female deputy from the southern province of Gaziantep, and its first female minister.

The lunch was attended by a number of leading names from business circles, including Doğan Gazetecilik Chairwoman Hanzade Doğan Boyner.