Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan drew worldwide ire this week when he said men are women cannot be made "equal" during an appearance at a conference on women and justice in Istanbul.
"You cannot make women do everything men do like the communist regimes did…this is against her delicate nature," Erdogan said to the crowd, which also reportedly included his own daughter.
He went on to say:
“You cannot subject a pregnant woman to the same working conditions as a man...you cannot make a mother who has to breastfeed her child equal to a man."
Watch this video from Euronews:
Erdogan is known for unusual and blunt comments on a range of issues.
Here are a few others:
On social media
“Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have to respect the Turkish Republic's laws," Erdogan said on March 30, 2014 at a rally ahead of the country's elections. "Turkey is not a banana republic.” (source: AFP)
“There is now a menace which is called Twitter. The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society.” (source: The Guardian on June 3, 2013)
On drinking alcohol
"I want them to know that I want these [restrictions] for the sake of their health ... Whoever drinks alcohol is an alcoholic." (source: Al Jazeera English on June 3, 2013)
On the financial markets
“Interest-rate lobby, set yourself in order. For years you have exploited the sweat of my nation. No more… Those who tried to crash the stock market without any shame: Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t have money in the stock market, it will be you who will crash." (source: The Wall Street Journal on June 10, 2013)
On the EU and democracy
“Do you have the right to take such a decision [on Turkey]? You stay silent about what’s happening in France, in England and elsewhere in Europe, and you dare to take a decision on our security forces, who are exercising their duty of law enforcement against those demonstrators. You are anti-democratic...You [EU] do not respect democracy." (source: Hurriyet Daily News on June 17, 2013)
On Turkish protesters
"We are against the majority tyrannizing the minority. But we are definitely against the minority tyrannizing the majority." (source: The Guardian on June 6, 2013)
