The Turkish President has said he thinks women should not be treated as equal to men.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went further to accuse feminists of rejecting the idea of motherhood.

Speaking at a meeting in Istanbul, the President said: “You cannot put women and men on an equal footing.”

He went on: “It is against nature.”

Going on he said feminist women don’t appreciate how important motherhood is in Islam.

Having previously encouraged women to have at least three children, the President has also condemned birth by caesarean section.

Speaking at a women’s conference in Istanbul, he said: “In the workplace, you cannot treat a man and a pregnant woman in the same way.”

Saying work done by men is against the “delicate nature” of women, he said: “Our religion regards motherhood very highly… Feminists don’t understand that, they reject motherhood.”

An alternative? Respect, rather than equality.

The President has previously claimed that Muslims discovered the Americas over three centuries before Christopher Columbus.

Since a recent change, gay men who want to be exempt from military service in Turkey will no longer be made to prove their sexual orientation with sex pictures and anal examinations.