Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pictured with Martin McAleese at Áras an Uachtaráin in 2004

Turkey’s president has declared women are unequal to men in his latest controversial comments on women’s rights.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan said putting men and women on an equal footing was “against human nature”.

“They were created differently. Their nature is different. Their constitution is different,” he told a summit on women and justice in Istanbul, attended by his daughter Sumeyye.

“You cannot get women to do every kind of work men can do, as in Communist regimes.

“You cannot tell them to go out and dig the soil. This is against their delicate nature.”

“Our religion has defined a position for women (in society): motherhood,” Mr Erdogan said.

“Some people can understand this, while others can’t. You cannot explain this to feminists because they don’t not accept the concept of motherhood.

The president has previously declared that every woman in Turkey should have three children and proposed limitations on abortion rights and the morning-after pill.

In August, he criticised a female journalist, telling her she should “know her place”.

Mr President, the Iona Institute called.

They’d like their policies back.

Turkish President Says Men and Women Not Equal (Sky News)

Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland