Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed how emotionally stuck he is with the Gezi Park protests that took place all throughout the month of June across the nation, when women with a collective voice argued that Erdogan’s policies are aimed at further strengthening a well-anchored patriarchal value system in Turkish society. That system is working against women who dream of living in a country where gender equality prevails, and freedom is not only a topic of intellectual discussion but a way of life.

“They are saying I am interfering in their lives when I call on women to have at least three children,” Erdogan said, addressing a large crowd on Aug. 8 at his Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Istanbul provincial office. “We have not imposed a legal obligation for this. This is something optional. But I, as a prime minister, am recommending three children. This is my most natural right. We’re not holding a gun to anybody’s head [to have three children].” Erdogan went on to say: “I am calling on those sisters who are devoted to our cause. Come, please donate to this nation at least three children.”

Donate is an interesting choice of word, which Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as, “to make a gift of; especially: to contribute to a public or charitable cause.” Could this really be the way in which the Turkish leadership today views building a contemporary society for 21st century Turkey that a husband and wife decide on expanding their family considering donating their newborns to be raised for a political party or a cause? Even the spelling out of this kind of an approach feeds the stereotypes in which there are fewer men in the Muslim world who view women as equals or partners than there are who see women as being to be dominated. 

“AKP’s view of women is completely based on fertility,” Aylin Nazliaka, a deputy with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) from Ankara, told Al-Monitor. She is a high school friend, and we were having a friendly conversation on women’s issues. “If women have one child, they continue working. If they have two children, they do their best to keep on working despite its challenges [in balancing the responsibilities of the children and the work,]” said Nazliaka. “When there are, however, three children, women stay at home. The position of women, in that sense, [by calling on them to have three children] is described as doing housework and taking care of children.”