Daily Agenda
Presidential Communications Director Duran spoke at the Women, Society and Future Panel
Duran, in his speech at the Women, Society and Future Panel held at the Directorate of Communications on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, expressed his wishes for a speedy recovery to the citizens affected by the earthquake that occurred in Buldan district of Denizli.
Congratulating the International Women’s Day of all women who make life beautiful and direct society with their labor, determination and contributions to social life, Duran commemorated all the female heroes and martyrs who have a place in national and spiritual memories with mercy and gratitude.
Duran saluted all mothers and women who were tested with various pains from Gaza to Syria, from Arakan to Africa, and congratulated March 8 International Women’s Day and said, “I express my condolences to the grieving Iranian mothers whose schools have become graves for their children in the past few days, and I pray for God’s mercy and patience.” he said.
Underlining that when women’s rights are mentioned, I do not only mean the search for legal rights or the demand for equality, Duran said, “Women’s rights represent a comprehensive and vital issue that concerns all areas of life and the entire society. For this reason, we specifically selected the title of our panel as ‘Women, Society and Future’. Because we do not think of these three elements separately from each other.” made his assessment.
Duran emphasized that women have waged a very important struggle in the last two centuries to be visible in the economic order shaped by production relations, to take a more active part in social life, and to reach an equal position in the relationship between the state and the citizen, and said that this struggle is not only a struggle for individual rights, but also a strong will for the construction of a fair and inclusive social order.
Director of Communications Duran continued his words as follows:
“At the point we have reached today, I would particularly like to express the following. Making the issue of women’s rights a part of the advertising industry and consumer culture from time to time with sloganic expressions, and bringing the image of a strong woman to the agenda with empty discourses, distances us from real issues and produces a social illusion. The problems that women face are too deep and multi-dimensional to be explained with superficial slogans or popular discourses. Such an approach neither produces solutions to the real problems of women nor contributes to social justice. For this reason, we need to go deeper into the issue and understand our social reality.” “We have to approach it from a perspective that takes into consideration the situation.”
“A significant portion of the 92 thousand thank you applications sent to CİMER are for female public servants”
Duran stated that making women more visible and more active in public life, without any discrimination, is one of their basic responsibilities, and emphasized that they carefully listen to every voice coming from the society in areas that directly affect women’s lives, such as equal pay, maternity leave, nursery facilities, harassment and mobbing.
In this context, Duran stated that, as the Presidency, they are sensitive about carefully examining the applications from women to CIMER, one of the application mechanisms of citizens, and said, “A significant portion of the approximately 92 thousand applications of gratitude sent to CIMER throughout 2025 are for female public servants. I would like to express my gratitude to our women, who work in almost every field, from doctors to nurses, from teachers to social service workers and security personnel, who increase the quality of public services with their devoted work.” he said.
“We see violence against women as a crime with no mitigating circumstances.”
Stating that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s determined, uncompromising and principled stance on combating violence against women has opened the door to an important mentality transformation in Türkiye in the last 20 years, Duran noted that a strong social awareness has been created on preventing violence thanks to the legal steps taken and institutional mechanisms developed.
Duran stated that today the state is far from an approach that remains indifferent to a woman victim of violence’s request for help, and said, “The transition from the old mentality of the old to the understanding of ‘the state must and will protect its citizens from all kinds of violence’ has represented an important mental transformation in Türkiye.” he said.
Stating that the state has been providing violence awareness and intervention training to thousands of public employees for years, from police officers to religious officials, from social workers to health and education personnel, Duran said, “We see violence against women as a crime with no mitigating circumstances. At this point, we are trying to build a society that does not include violence and violent language with our practices such as ALO 183 and KADES, along with Law No. 6284.” he said.
Duran stated that President Erdoğan’s insistent stance on women’s visibility in decision-making mechanisms and parliamentary representation is very valuable and said, “We have had more female ministers in the governments he led than ever before throughout the history of our Republic. It is also pleasing for us to have female deputy ministers among us today.” he said.
Pointing out that the rate of female MPs, which was around 4 percent in 2002, has increased steadily and reached 20 percent in 2023, Duran continued his words as follows:
“Regulations such as maternity and breastfeeding leave in working life and flexible working hours for those with young children have been developed to be applied in favor of women. The proposal to increase maternity leave from 16 weeks to 24 weeks is currently on the agenda of our parliament. We have also recorded very important and positive developments in the past century, especially the schooling rate of girls.”
Director of Communications Duran informed that today the ratio of male and female students in secondary and higher education is very close to each other and said:
“While the rate of college graduates for women between the ages of 25 and 29 was 11 percent in the 2010s, this rate increased to over 40 percent in the 2020s. This success shows a revolutionary leap in the field of women’s education since the history of our Republic. We did not carry the loss of rights, violations in the social sphere, and obstacles in schooling and working life that women faced in the 20th century into the 21st century.
Likewise, we have left behind the discriminatory practices of the February 28 coup period, such as the headscarf ban, which directly targeted women. Faced with both political and social obstacles, headscarved women have now taken their rightful place in public spaces. “The right to vote, granted to women in 1934, began to be fully implemented with the lifting of the headscarf ban in 2014 under the leadership of our President.”
Stating that “The vision of the Turkey Century is the vision of a Türkiye where women are protected and empowered in every sense,” Duran said that they will continue to work hard to meet women’s demands for work, justice and equal treatment.
Duran underlined that the Turkish Century is the century of crowning the legal gains achieved by women with structural and sustainable equality of opportunity.
Director of Communications Duran continued his words as follows:
“Turkey supports women’s struggle for rights and freedom in different geographies of the world with its humanitarian justice-based and peace-oriented foreign policy approach that it has maintained for many years. This approach forms the basis of our principled and determined stance against the injustices suffered by women in Syria, Yemen, Africa and many other places on a global scale. Turkey clearly expresses its reaction on every platform against the tragedies that women are exposed to, especially in Palestine, where a brutal genocide is taking place today. On the occasion of Women’s Day, the symbol of resistance in Gaza “I would like to salute the women of Gaza and congratulate their honorable stance that fascinates the world. Our wish is to establish peace as soon as possible in all geographies where conflicts and wars continue, and to provide an environment where women can live their lives in dignity, safety and fear.”
Stating that, as the Presidency, they think that public communication should be carried out with an inclusive approach that strengthens social values, Duran expressed that they hope that the panel will create a constructive dialogue ground between the media, public institutions, academia and non-governmental organizations.
Duran stated that the empowerment of women is the empowerment of society and said, “The role of women is indispensable in the construction of a more equitable future.” he said.
After his speech, Director of Communications Duran presented flowers and gifts to Yurdagül Girgin, the most senior female staff member in the institution.
Prof. Dr. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Kübra Güran Yiğitbaşı, Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Fatma Varank, KADEM Board Member Sedide Yılmaz Akbulut and Journalist Fadime Özkan also spoke at the “Women, Society and Future Panel” moderated by Emine Sare Aydın.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he condemned in the harshest terms Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Fleet, which carries humanitarian aid to Gaza, in international waters. The Cabinet Meeting held at the Presidential Complex under the chairmanship of Erdoğan lasted 2 hours. Making a statement after the meeting, President Erdoğan briefly said:
I DAMN THE ATTACK: (SUMUD FLEET) Despite the ceasefire reached on October 11 with our efforts, Israel unfortunately continues its legal, immoral and inhumane policies towards Gaza. They display all kinds of barbarism, from blocking humanitarian aid entries to air strikes targeting Gaza civilians. Today, we witnessed once again how Israel is governed by a fascist mentality. The Global Sumud Flotilla, which carries humanitarian aid to Gaza, was attacked by Israeli forces and in international waters. I condemn in the strongest terms this piracy and banditry against the hopeful passengers of the Sumut Fleet, which consists of citizens of 40 different countries. We are taking the necessary initiatives to ensure that our citizens in the fleet return to our country safely. We invite the international community to take action now against Israel’s unlawful and unruly actions.
AFTERSHOCKS OF THE CRISIS CONTINUES: The aftershocks of the crisis, which started with the attacks on Iran on February 28, continue in many areas. We are faced with a multi-layered uncertainty where the balance in fuel prices is still not achieved… Inflation is on the rise in many countries of the world… Breaks in supply chains have not yet been repaired… The blockage in the Strait of Hormuz cannot be overcome. The extent of the destruction caused by this shock wave, which hit the world like a tsunami, cannot be fully estimated. The more serious aspect of the issue is that this atmosphere produces a “cluff economy” at the global level, creating a rent system based mostly on speculation and market manipulation. A handful of wild capitalists who control hot money are growing stronger and adding to their wealth by literally usurping the throat of billions of people from Africa to Asia, from America to Latin America.
PASSWORDS ARE BUILDING EVERY DAY: While the bread on the table of the middle and lower income groups is getting smaller and smaller, their passbooks are swelling every day. It is a fact that every war produces its own economy; So every war has winners and losers. However, with the Iran war, this issue has exceeded the limits of tolerance and reached destructive dimensions in terms of global economic welfare. Behind the unresolved crises and conflicts that cannot be ended in many parts of the world is the irreconcilable attitude of the parties, as well as the great role, influence and sabotage attempts of the tufeylis who benefit from the crisis. Unfortunately, we observe that there are people in our country who are in a hurry to grab logs from the flood. They are trying to gain political and material benefit from this extraordinary process by injecting demoralization, pessimism and hopelessness into society.
THE SMOKE OF THE FIRE IN OUR REGION REACHES US TOO: While our world is globalizing; Problems, crises and opportunities are also gaining a global dimension, and everyone is faced with the reality called the “butterfly effect”. In this new world where distances have lost their meaning, no one has the luxury of remaining indifferent to what is happening in another part of the world. So to speak, today, when a country in the Middle East sneezes, a country in Latin America or Asia can easily catch a cold. The days when every sheep was hanged by its own legs are now over. Like every country integrated with the global economy, we are somehow affected by every positive or negative event outside. Especially, even if there is no flame from the fire in our region, its smoke reaches us and spreads to us.
WE MAINTAINED OUR COOL BLOOD: We maintained our composure against the traps of drawing Türkiye into war from the first day. In addition, we made efforts to reduce tension and restore tranquility with our peaceful policy that prioritizes negotiation, dialogue and diplomacy. By further increasing our dialogue with our Turkish and Kurdish brothers in the region, we contributed to disrupting the games that would deepen instability. Türkiye’s ability to manage regional conflicts and crises was once again demonstrated in this process. Despite the instability that surrounds us, Türkiye has stood out as the island of stability in its region. Although it will take some time to return to the pre-war period, our country will continue on its way much stronger than before. We can already see signs of this. The interest of international investors in our country is increasing day by day.
OPPOSITION PURSUES CRISIS OPPORTUNITY
Instead of making constructive criticisms and adopting a tone that prioritizes Türkiye in the Iran war and its aftermath, which brought our region to the edge of the abyss, the opposition unfortunately chose to turn the process into a tool of exploitation for its political interests and resorted to crisis opportunism. Even in such a period, they could not save themselves from acting with the logic of “let the government wear down and if necessary, let Türkiye lose”. We regret to see that they insist on maintaining this attitude. Instead of strengthening the capacity of the political institution to produce solutions by saying “right is right and wrong is wrong”, unfortunately, they cannot go beyond calling what the government says is “white” “black” and what the government says is “right” as “wrong”. What’s worse is that this is done in an extremely ugly, hurtful and destructive manner that has rarely been seen in our political history.
EVERYONE MUST BE SENSITIVE
However, opposition does not mean distorting, manipulating, or being so despicable as to set the country on fire for one’s political gain. The opposition’s duty is not to provoke, to incite, or to try to benefit from this by acting as an economic hitman. Embracing rhetoric with high levels of threat and provocation, especially in order to conceal the corruption agenda, is an extremely cheap and stale policy. In democracies, the opposition is at least as responsible as the government; It has to act responsibly when it comes to the interests of the country and nation. I would like to remind you that; Our region is going through a ring of fire… Where no one, including the developed countries, can foresee the future… At a time when a new equation is being established in the global system, the opposition has to act at least as sensitively as we do and take a local and national stance.
THERE IS NO OTHER Türkiye
The words spoken on the podiums, the messages given on the screens, and the judgments made on social media should be carefully calculated to whom they serve, and whether they are in the interest of the country or not should be carefully evaluated. There is no other Türkiye. As 86 million of us, we have no homeland other than this heavenly country. No one has the right to harm this, cast a shadow on the environment of stability and trust in Türkiye, or deal a blow to our country’s interests by hiding behind the excuse of “I am in opposition.” No matter which wing of the political spectrum we are on, we all have to act with the principle of “my nation first, my country first”.
President Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the TOBB Service Certificate of Honor and Plaque Presentation Ceremony at the Twin Towers of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye in Çankaya, Ankara:
Since the first day we took over the responsibility of governing Türkiye, we have acted and continue to act with the awareness that we carry the responsibility of every member of our nation on our shoulders. In the last 23.5 years, with the support of you and our beloved nation, we have carried Türkiye to the next level in every field, from education to health, from transportation to trade, from agriculture to security. We have established a solid structure for our economy, which we have built on four pillars. We have made the Turkish economy resistant to shocks in a period when protectionist tendencies are on the rise on a global scale, commercial competition is becoming increasingly harsh, and wars and conflicts are followed by water, climate, food and energy crises.
OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS CONTINUED ITS SINGLE-DIGITAL COURSE FOR EXACTLY 35 MONTHS: Our defense and aerospace exports exceeded 10 billion dollars last year. We further reinforce the momentum we have achieved in exports with tourism and employment figures. While our labor force participation rate has increased to 52.8 percent, our unemployment rate has remained in single digits for 35 months. Investors from abroad established 89 thousand companies in our country in 23 years and invested 290 billion dollars.
THERE IS OPPORTUNITY IN PRICING
While Türkiye today has the lowest input costs in Europe in many areas, especially energy, it is obvious that if there are disproportionate increases in the prices of some products, this cannot be explained by market conditions. We resolutely continue our inspections against those who make exorbitant pricing a habit, citing fluctuations in input costs.
OUR FOREIGN TRADE VOLUME IS 820 BILLION $
Despite the conflicts in our region, we grew our economy by 3.6 percent last year, reaching 1.6 trillion dollars and national income per capita to 18 thousand 40 dollars. We increased our foreign trade volume to 820 billion dollars and our exports of goods and services to 396 billion dollars. We will exceed 400 billion dollars in the very near future, God willing. The 4.6 billion dollar increase recorded in April was the highest export increase in the last 53 months.
WE DO NOT GIVE BONUSES TO WEDGE DRIVERS
While we are trying to break down the walls of learned helplessness that have been imposed on Türkiye for decades, some people are constantly putting obstacles in our way in this process. So far, we have not taken into account those who use every opportunity they have to preach goodness. We will not give them bonuses from now on. We will continue to achieve new successes in the same way that we responded to those who asked “What do they know about producing automobiles?” by producing them. We are about to leave behind almost a quarter of a century on the path of serving the nation and the country.
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN RECEIVED EBU CEZER AND HIS FAMILY FROM GAZA
President Erdoğan received 11-year-old Gazan Ramazan Abu Cezer, known for his videos describing the Gaza tragedy on social media, and his family. Erdoğan met with Cezer at the Presidential Dolmabahçe Working Office. Cezer’s father and aunt were also present at the reception. Ramazan Ebu Cezer gifted the book he wrote to Erdoğan.
The little phenomenon, which announced the human rights violations in Gaza, the blockade and the most basic human rights taken away from its peers in an impressive language filtered from the children’s world, raised public awareness thanks to these efforts and became known as the “ambassador of Gaza children”. During the meeting, Erdogan expressed his appreciation for the brave struggle of little Ramadan in the digital field, who reached millions of people globally and became the voice of the people and children of Gaza. Cezer moved millions to tears by saying, “They wrapped two of my friends in shrouds in front of my eyes” in his interview with CNN Turk. Muhammed UZUN / SABAH
AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir introduced the new organizational work for living spaces that have become housing estates in the “Every Site is an Organization” program. AK Party Istanbul deputies, district heads, mayors and organization members attended the program held at the Provincial Directorate. Speaking in the program, Provincial Mayor Özdemir stated that Istanbul is not only a physically growing city and drew attention to the social transformation in city life. Özdemir said, “Today, Istanbul has also become the center of a new urban sociology.”
THE NEED FOR NEIGHBORHOOD CULTURE
Stating that the neighborhood culture has been replaced by safe but distant living spaces today, Özdemir stated that they were not insensitive to the change and said, “The ‘Every Site is an Organization’ work was born precisely from this need.” Stating that the AK Party has adopted an understanding of politics that establishes direct contact with citizens since its establishment, Özdemir said, “Our work on Every Site One Organization is a new generation organizational reflex that accurately reads the changing city life of Istanbul and aims to transform the social distance caused by modern urbanization into a strong social bond. Today, we are establishing a strong field network in Istanbul, touching every point of the city with our neighborhood patrons, street volunteers and now with our site representatives. On the path we set out by saying ‘Istanbul with Every Neighbourhood, Every Story’; “We are building a new contact model in line with Istanbul’s changing rhythm of life,” he said.
Daily Agenda
BREAKING NEWS | Corruption operation against Beşiktaş Municipality: 5 suspects detained
Breaking news: Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office reported that 5 suspects were detained for “taking bribes” and “laundering property values” within the scope of the investigation carried out against Beşiktaş Municipality.
In the statement made by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was stated that an investigation was carried out against Beşiktaş Municipality by the Financial Crimes Branch Directorate of the Istanbul Provincial Police Department under the coordination of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In the statement, it was stated that within the scope of the investigation, 5 suspects, including the former Beşiktaş Deputy Mayor and Beşiktaş Municipality Council Member, were detained on charges of “taking bribes” and “laundering assets”.
It was stated that during the searches carried out in the residences and office rooms of the suspects, a large number of digital materials and 90 thousand dollars and 5 thousand euros, which were considered to be obtained from crime, were seized.
In the statement, the names of the suspects were listed as follows:
“Former Beşiktaş Deputy Mayor Cevdet Çalı, Beşiktaş Municipality Personnel Services Manager Bülent Karakaş, Sarbel Organization Office Worker Özlem Demir Karakaş, Former Beşiktaş Municipality CHP Council Member Oylum Işık, Beşiktaş Municipality CHP Council Member İlker Uluer.”
Breaking news: Istanbul Police Intelligence Branch Police Officers; He made important findings about the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH. The clear identities of the people who carry out activities on behalf of the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH, organize so-called classes in their own illegal associations under the so-called leadership, and provide so-called training to children under the age of 18 in line with the ideology of the terrorist organization have been identified.
In addition, some members of the terrorist organization detained in prisons due to their connections with the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH; It was determined that they collected money by making radical statements in order to provide logistical support to the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH.
Members of the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH, whose identities were determined one by one; they carried out secret work to gain base for the terrorist organization; It was also determined that they sold books/magazines in order to cover expenses and to make propaganda for the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH.
RIFLES AND PROHIBITED PUBLICATIONS WERE FOUND
A simultaneous operation was carried out by the Anti-Terrorism Branch Police of the Istanbul Police at addresses determined in three different provinces based in Istanbul. 110 suspects who were found to be carrying out activities on behalf of the Armed Terrorist Organization DAESH were caught and detained.
In the detailed searches carried out at the raided addresses; Four rifles, 90 rifle cartridges, many banned publications and documents with organizational content, as well as digital materials with organizational content were seized.
The seized evidence was examined. The moments of the operation were captured on police cameras. The detained suspects were brought to the Istanbul Provincial Police Department for questioning and legal proceedings.
Daily Agenda
Sharing from First Lady Erdoğan regarding the Presidential Children’s Orchestra and Choir
First Lady Erdoğan shared a post on her social media account about the Presidential Children’s Orchestra and Choir, which will give a concert tomorrow on the occasion of May 19, Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.
In her post, First Lady Erdoğan stated that the most valuable treasure of a nation is children who grow up with art and said:
The most valuable treasure of a nation is its children who grow up with art.
I follow with great pride and excitement the journey of the Presidential Children’s Orchestra and Choir, which started in 2024 and grows stronger day by day.
Standing out with his musical talent and love of art,… pic.twitter.com/lT8dqkp1h9
— Emine Erdoğan (@EmineErdogan) May 18, 2026
“I follow with great pride and excitement the journey of the Presidential Children’s Orchestra and Choir, which started in 2024 and grows stronger day by day. This valuable community of our specially talented children, who stand out with their musical talent and love of art, is one of the most beautiful reflections of determination, dedication and passion. I wholeheartedly congratulate our precious children who carry our traditional music to the future. I hope this meaningful effort, which rises note by note, will be permanent and bring a bright future to our children.” I hope so.”
First Lady Erdoğan’s post also included a video explaining the establishment, activities and goals of the Presidential Children’s Orchestra and Choir.
In the video, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Türkiye’s Century will hopefully be the century of our children, too.” statements were included.
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