Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the Family and Culture-Arts Symposium on Thursday in Ankara, highlighting what he described as mounting challenges facing the family institution.
Focusing on challenges to the family institution, Erdogan said, "We are taking measures against gender-neutrality impositions and LGBT movements, allowing no concessions or complacency."
He stressed that Türkiye is protecting the family in a period where global capitalism is opening new fronts, and cultural imperialism and digital encirclement are intensifying worldwide.
The president also warned of a demographic crisis, saying, “We are currently facing a disaster,” as official data showed the country’s total fertility rate dropped to 1.48 last year.
Erdogan said the declining fertility rate is “sounding loud alarm bells for our future”, and that “no one who cares about this country’s destiny can be indifferent.”
In May, Erdogan announced that Türkiye would designate 2026 to 2035 as the "Decade of Family and Population" during his speech at the International Family Forum held in Istanbul.
Erdogan criticised the modern lifestyle that prioritises individual comfort over familial and social bonds, stating:
“A mindset that builds modernisation on the notions of being without family and isolation cannot bring peace to either individuals or society.”
“This lifestyle is rapidly infiltrating the fabric of our society, starting with the youth,” he said.
Many other countries have adopted measures against the LGBT movement.
Russia banned the "international LGBT movement” in 2023.
In recent times, Hungary, Bulgaria, Argentina, Indonesia, and Georgia have adopted measures aimed at shielding family values from LGBT influence.
Similarly, over 30 African countries, 22 Asian countries, six American nations and six in Oceania have adopted stringent measures against gender-neutrality impositions.
