I congratulate with my warmest wishes the International Women’s Day of the female members of our Ministry and of all women.

The year 2020 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most comprehensive document to promote women's rights to date, where 189 states came together to call “women's rights are human rights”.

The year 2020 is important as it also marks the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of Resolution 1325 by the United Nations Security Council, which emphasizes the importance of women’s participation in conflict prevention and post-conflict peace processes; as well as the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN).

I hope that this significant year will provide an opportunity to consolidate our efforts as the international community to end injustice, inequality and violence that women face across the world.

With this understanding, Turkey takes important steps to empower women in all areas of life, to end violence against women, to achieve equality between women and men in law and in practice and to increase the schooling rate of girls while also playing a pioneering role in initiatives on women's rights at international platforms.

Our Ministry actively represents our country in the endeavors for empowering women and realizing equal rights carried out at international organizations, in particular, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,

It is a great honour, not only for our Ministry but also for our country, that sixty-six women Ambassadors and ten women Consul Generals represent Turkey at a very high level all around the world.

With these feelings, I congratulate the International Women’s Day of all women in our country and around the world while commemorating our female martyrs with mercy and gratitude and extending my condolences to all women relatives of our martyrs.