"Seminar on Equal opportunities for men and women in Turkey
Ankara, 6 March 2006
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very pleased that you have been able to attend this important seminar focusing on the main challenges of gender equality in Turkey.
Accession negotiations with Turkey were opened last October. The issue of equal opportunities is an essential component in your country’s preparations for future EU accession. The timing of my visit also reflects the importance which the European Commission attaches to this issue, as a date close to International Women’s Day was deliberately chosen.
The question of equal rights for men and women is also of importance to me personally. I fully share the views of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who said: “If a society does not march towards its goal with all its women and men together, it is impossible for it to progress”.
I regard his words as evidence of his brilliant, visionary mind. After all, at that time there were not many people anywhere in the world who thought as he did. And yet modern history has proved him right: without women, without their knowledge, skills and experience, the economic growth and development of the last few decades in Europe would not have been possible."
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