19.04.2025 11:31
The eagerly awaited date for the first payment of child assistance has been announced. The Minister of Family and Social Services, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, announced that the first payments will be deposited into accounts in May.
The Minister of Family and Social Services, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, made important statements regarding current issues. Minister Göktaş stated, "We have updated our birth support system. A one-time support of 5,000 lira for the first child. A monthly support of 1,500 TL for the second child until the child is 5 years old, deposited into the mother's account. A monthly support of 5,000 TL for the third child into the mother's account." Minister Göktaş announced during her appearance on CNN Türk that the first payments will be deposited into accounts in May.
Highlights from Göktaş's statements are as follows: My grandfather migrated from Afyon Emirdağ to Belgium in 1969. I was born there. My grandfather was the first Turkish grocer in Belgium. My parents also operated a grocery store. I worked in that grocery store after school. I was a cashier. I arranged fruits and vegetables. This was the beginning of my active political career in society.
"I HAVE NEVER BEEN WITHOUT OBSTACLES"
After I started politics, I became a member of parliament. There has never been a period without obstacles. I was the first headscarf-wearing member of parliament in Europe. I entered politics to be the voice of the youth. It was an environment filled with intense prejudices. Minarets were banned in Switzerland, and the burqa was banned in France. I became a municipal council member in 2006. When I became a member of parliament in 2009, it was a prejudiced environment. At that time, there was a headscarf ban in Turkey. There was a tutelage in Turkey. Our President fought against that tutelage. The first headscarf-wearing member of parliament was able to enter the parliament in 2015. Thank God, under the leadership of our President, these bans are now behind us. Women are strong in every field of society. Currently, all women are completely equal. Before that, we could not talk about rights and freedoms.
The representation rate of women was 4.9% in 2002, and today it has reached around 20%. The first headscarf-wearing female ambassador and the first headscarf-wearing governor were appointed during this period. Female doctors and engineers can now be appointed as general managers. The rate of female ambassadors was 6.9% in 2002, and today it is around 27%. The number of female academics and professors has also increased.
"I AM EUROPE'S FIRST HEADSCARF-WEARING MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT"
I am the first headscarf-wearing member of parliament in all of Europe since 2009. Now there is a senator in Belgium. There wasn't even one in the USA. The first headscarf-wearing member of parliament in the USA was elected in 2015. I was elected to the municipal council in 2006. They told me I could be the deputy mayor on the condition that I "remove my headscarf." Now there is a headscarf-wearing deputy mayor in Brussels. The Turkish community is entrepreneurial. The European Turkish community is entrepreneurial, hardworking, and determined. There have been criticisms at times saying, "They couldn't learn the languages of these countries," but those countries also had no integration policies. Some Turks went to work for 2-3 years, and now they are going to the 4th generation. Multicultural European Turks are actually a richness.
A corner of our hearts has always increased with Turkey. We have always closely followed our country. We had established a Turkish student association. Whenever there was an anti-Turkish incident, we would immediately go and defend Turkey. I am one of the most active women in Belgium, and I received an award there. I received an award from Lebanon. During my ambassadorship, I received an award from Algeria. Algeria awarded a Turkish ambassador for the first time. I was listed among the 100 most influential women in Belgium. What matters is the service you provide.
"I ACCEPTED TO BE EXPELLED"
My first term as a member of parliament in 2009 was not easy. In 2014, my party nominated me again. I said, "If I am going to experience these difficulties again, I will chart my own path." I was re-elected. However, during that period, my party leader had changed. He did not want to take a photo with me. It was a difficult and stressful process. I broke out of my shell. The year 2015 was the centenary of the Armenian claims. My party leader said, "If you do not recognize this, you will be expelled from the party." I did not accept these claims in line with my values and accepted to be expelled.
I served for another 4 years as an independent member of parliament. I stood firm for my values. I was threatened with death. I received intense threats and insults. I was 7 months pregnant at that time. It was a heavy experience. Many women in Europe are isolated because they wear headscarves. France banned headscarf-wearing athletes from participating in national competitions. There are those who really need to question themselves there.
"TODAY WE ARE AT ALARM LEVEL"
Today we are at alarm level. Today, our fertility rate is at 1.51. The population renewal rate is 2.1. Currently, Turkey cannot renew itself. We are aging. There are many dimensions, from production to employment to health. We may not be able to find young people to send to the army. By 2050, our population will peak and start to decline. The population over 65 has exceeded 10%. While our number of children is decreasing, the population in need of care will increase. Changes in social services may lead to disruptions in the labor market. Our President has viewed this as an existential threat since 2007. It has become clear how right our President was.
"WE FOUGHT THE NATIONAL STRUGGLE WITH FAMILIES"
I do not think the economic reasons are correct. The same problem exists in high welfare countries like Europe and Korea. I am thinking of child care centers in Korea as nursing homes. We are implementing multiple programs. In 2023, our fertility rate was 1.62. Our President made a speech centered on the family at the United Nations podium. We held our 8th Family Council. We met with 15,000 citizens in all 81 provinces. We implemented our action plan to protect the family. We established a directorate for population policies. We fought the national struggle with families. We overcame July 15 with families.
SUPPORT OF 150,000 LIRA FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
On December 25, 2024, we established the Population Policies Board. We are addressing issues such as home care models and care models for working women. We are implementing projects like increasing the number of nurseries for working women and neighbor mothers. We declared this year as the year of the family on January 13. On January 13, the President gave two good news. One is the fund we call marriage credit. The Family and Youth Fund is a support of 150,000 lira. It will be given to young people aged 18-29 who will get married. It covers those who will marry for the first time. We started this in Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, and Gaziantep provinces first. After this fund was introduced, the number of those aged 18-29 getting married in the pilot region reached 64%. The number of those who are not getting married and those who are divorced is also rapidly increasing. 91,129 couples applied for this fund.
FIRST BIRTH SUPPORT IN MAY
Our other good news is that we have updated our birth support system. A one-time support of 5,000 lira for the first child. A monthly support of 1,500 TL for the second child until the child is 5 years old, deposited into the mother's account. A monthly support of 5,000 TL for the third child into the mother's account. We received 169,921 applications. We will deposit the first payment into the mothers' accounts in May. The rate of the first child is 43%. The most applications came from Istanbul, followed by Ankara and Şanlıurfa.
DISCOUNTS ON WHITE GOODS
Thanks to this support, young people have brought their wedding dates forward. TCDD offers a 50% discount for newlywed couples on intercity travel, and this year, a 15% discount is also provided within the family year. THY offers a 15% discount. Families with the same surname between 3 and 9 people can benefit from this.
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White goods are very costly. We are establishing protocols with some companies. We will provide a discount of 10% to 40% for newlyweds. We are calling on companies from here. We have our municipality in Arnavutköy, Istanbul. They provide 30,000 TL support to newlyweds. Gaziantep municipality sends couples who have been married for 41 years to Umrah. Emirdağ municipality provides wedding halls.
We are increasing the number of foster families. We are placing children with foster families. There are certain criteria for being a foster family. This project of ours is recognized worldwide. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are implementing our foster family program. We have 8 to 12 children staying in villa-type houses. We established the first Alzheimer dementia center in the Marmara Region. Our Darülaceze campus in Şişli continues to serve. It has become a place where more of our citizens can receive services. It has become one of the largest facilities in Europe. As a ministry, we are meeting the needs of 170,000 families. As a ministry, we provided iftar to 340,000 families in homes across Turkey.
NEIGHBORING MATERNITY SYSTEM IS COMING
We have a 16-week maternity leave. 8 weeks are for prenatal, and 8 weeks are for postnatal. Those who wish can combine them. We are working in our population policies board. Maternity leave should not be at a level that hinders women's employment. This potential for motherhood can create barriers to employment for women. Male personnel may be preferred in your place. We continue our efforts. We are implementing our neighboring maternity system. We are working on mothers you can safely entrust your child to in your neighborhood.
DIGITAL MEDIA WORK
We have significant work on digital media. Children are born into the digital world. It is clear that we have a serious need for regulation in principle. Australia has banned social media for those under 16. A legal need has also arisen in our country. Last year, we held two important workshops. We addressed what families and children think and what experts think. We met with representatives of social media platforms. There was an application called Wattbat. It was claimed to be a program for children to write stories. There is no filter in it. We saw it as a platform that includes incest stories, gender-neutral propaganda, and many contents that promote domestic violence, accessible to children. There was no representative for this application. We requested its ban. They immediately appointed a representative and wanted to meet with us. When children enter social media, they do not know what they are facing. We are addressing this together with our Ministry of Transport. We are working on a regulation for ages 13-16 and a second regulation for under 13. Parents also have a role to play. The technology literacy of parents needs to be increased.
"VIOLENCE IS A SOCIAL ISSUE"
We are intervening in the Minguzzi case. This case has deeply affected all of us. I felt it deeply as a mother for Ahmet. We are in contact with the family. Our President has also given an instruction for regulation. Our Ministry of Justice is getting used to it, and we are supporting them. We are creating a social risk map; the purpose of the social risk map is to prevent these cases. We are doing important work to reduce violence against women and domestic violence. The reason for our meetings with social media and media managers is the increase in such content. We are closely following our Narin case as well. As a ministry, we are intervening in more than 66,000 cases like this. Every case is important to us. We have 418 social service centers and 309 contact points for combating violence across Turkey, and we take every case very seriously. We have a violence hotline at 183. Violence is a social issue.
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