Turkey reacts to the worldwide scandal and allegations of sexism at the “Sofagate”. One is happy to have a woman as EU Commission President.
Ankara – The “Sofagate” made headlines around the world. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan was accused of snubbing the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in which the men present sat down on armchairs standing next to each other, but von der Leyen had to sit on a sofa at a considerable distance. The charge: sexism against the head of the European executive. This incident overshadowed the meeting, which was actually about the strained relations between the EU and Turkey.
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On Monday (April 26th, 2021), von der Leyen said in a speech to the EU Parliament that she was of the opinion that she had only been treated so “disrespectfully” because of her gender. The Turkish government has again denied the allegation. Ankara insisted on April 28th that internal EU disputes were responsible for the protocol error called “Sofagate” during the meeting, as the Turkish newspaper “Hürriet” reported.
Turkey is “pleased” to have a woman as President of the EU Commission
In an email, Tanju Bilgiç, spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry, denied that von der Leyen had been insulted because of her gender. “Turkey does not apply separate protocol regulations depending on the gender of the person in office,” the email said.
Instead, the Turkish government is pleased that a woman is at the head of the European Commission, as stated in the statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry. “Turkey is pleased that the presidency of the EU Commission has been taken over by a woman for the first time and believes that this is an important step towards the advancement of women and equality,” said Bilgiç.
Turkey: EU is to blame for protocol errors
The EU institutions are called upon to reach a “consensus” among themselves in order to avoid similar protocol errors – and thus a second Sofagate – in the future. “It is regrettable that this event, which has its origins in internal EU political struggles … is still used as material for political debate and linked to gender discrimination,” added the spokesman.
| Sofagate | |
| Date: | April 6, 2021 |
| Place: | Presidential Palace in Ankara (Turkey) |
| Participants in the meeting: | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Charles Michel, Cevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Ursula von der Leyen |
Turkey only withdrew from the Istanbul Convention a few weeks ago. The agreement aims to protect women from violence and discrimination and oblige states to ensure gender equality in their legal systems. Turkey “does not need any foreign models, translations and copies to protect the rights of our women,” said Erdoğan in 2017. In addition, the President of Turkey said equality between women and men was “unnatural”. (Sebastian Richter)
