MUHAMMED SEMİH UĞURLU - Minister of Family and Social Services Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş said, "Many activities are being taken up by countries in the name of women's empowerment. On the other hand, Turkey has a leading role in the field of women's policies in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is the second largest organization after the United Nations (UN) and includes 57 countries." he said.
Minister Göktaş made evaluations to the AA correspondent in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, where he was within the scope of the 9th OIC Ministers Responsible for Women Conference.
Reminding that the OIC Ministers Responsible for Women Conference was hosted by Islamabad after 5 years, Göktaş stated that they were extremely excited about the meeting.
Regarding the importance of the meeting, Göktaş said, "Many activities are being taken up by countries in the name of women's empowerment. On the other hand, Turkey has a leading role in the field of women's policies in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is the second largest organization after the United Nations and includes 57 countries." he said.
Noting that they have carried out many activities for the empowerment of women in the last 24 years under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Göktaş said, "We had the opportunity to share with our counterparts here, especially our Women's Empowerment Strategy Document and Action Plan, and the activities we have carried out in education, politics, digital space, technology, and all areas of life to empower women in Turkey in the last 24 years." he said.
Contacts and bilateral relations in Pakistan
Göktaş stated that they shared the country's statement and that many countries requested meetings with Türkiye.
Emphasizing that there are many countries that want to benefit from Türkiye's experience, Göktaş said, "In this context, we have held nearly 10 bilateral meetings from yesterday to today. We both conveyed our country's experience and had the opportunity to share the services we have provided in the last 24 years and the activities we have carried out to empower women." made his assessment.
Göktaş pointed out that these platforms are valuable in strengthening bilateral cooperation.
Noting that it was his first visit to Pakistan, Göktaş stated that they signed an agreement with equivalent ministries there.
In this context, Göktaş said that they will make many activities in the field of children and family a common route with Pakistan in order to empower women.
Giving the message that they are determined to strengthen relations with Pakistan in every sense, Göktaş stated that such visits are an important initiative to strengthen family diplomacy, especially under the leadership of President Erdoğan.
Göktaş reminded that 2025 was declared as the "Year of the Family" in Türkiye and said:
"The next period 2026-2035 has been declared the 'Decade of Family and Population'. We also have a draft decision on the Decade of Family and Population within the OIC. Another bill is the protection of children in the digital world. We held meetings in which we discussed both of these bills. These are areas that attract the attention of other countries in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We also want to share the experiences in our country, but also to strengthen our bilateral relations and to address these issues more clearly and more decisively within the OIC regionally." "We carry out these activities."
"We discussed the steps we took to empower women in all areas of life"
Göktaş stated that, especially in the last 24 years, under the leadership of President Erdoğan, reforms have been implemented, especially in terms of giving equal rights and opportunities to women.
Reminding that the rate of women in MPs was 4.4 percent in 2002, Göktaş said that this rate reached 20 percent.
Pointing out that the rate of women in politics and diplomacy has increased, Göktaş continued as follows:
"While the number of female ambassadors was only 14 in 2002, today we had the opportunity to share the point our country has reached in that 87 of our 297 ambassadors are women. On the other hand, we also had the opportunity to share our women's empowerment strategy and document and action plan with the public, especially with other countries. We discussed our regional-based experience, especially with women's cooperatives, and the steps we have taken to empower women in all areas of life in all the activities we carry out in our 81 provinces."
Göktaş stated that technology is a very valuable and rapidly developing field, and that women are seen to be lacking in these fields.
Stating that activities are being carried out in this field, Göktaş made the following evaluations:
"We had the opportunity to share these activities with other countries. Countries' interest in Türkiye is quite high. Our country is shown as an example in the activities carried out in recent years. We also share this experience. We will invite them to our country. In the coming periods, we will continue our activities as partners, not only as two countries, but also regionally and internationally."
Göktaş stated that this meeting had two outcomes and reminded that Türkiye became a member of the women's advisory board in 2016.
Stating that Türkiye's membership in the OIC Women's Solidarity Board will continue for two more years, Göktaş said:
"We would like to thank the countries that provide support in this context. The Women's Solidarity Council was established with the initiatives of our country. Our membership here is an important gain for our country. Our candidate and current member is Dr. Ravza Kavakçı Kan."
Göktaş said that there is an important award ceremony today and Prof. will receive an award in the field of technology. Dr. Emphasizing that Burcu Özsoy also carried out very important scientific activities in Antarctica, he said, "Today, she will be given an award unanimously by all countries. In this context, it is a matter of pride for our country. I would like to emphasize that it is an important gain in terms of the point women have reached and being set as an example." he said.