Turkey's Family Ministry pushes 'marriage' agenda for Valentine's Day

Duvar English

Turkey's Family and Social Services Ministry on Feb. 14 shared a post on its social media account for Valentine’s Day, saying, “If you’re in love, go get married.”

The ministry included the hashtag “Year of Family” in the post and added a link to the “Support Project for Youth Who Will Get Married.”

Journalist and LGBTI+ rights advocate İrfan Değirmenci responded with a photo reading “Love is a human right,” adding, “We’ll think about it if you make it legal, love.”

Other users criticized the post, with comments such as, “No one’s asking if you have money.”

The Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) also responded, saying LGBTI+ individuals were ready to get married as soon as the government legalized gay marriage.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2025 as the “Year of Family.”

As part of this initiative, the Family and Social Services Ministry designed a logo to emphasize the "importance of starting a family."

The logo, featuring a mother, father, and three children, will be prominently used in events and social media posts throughout the year.

Additionally, the project offers young couples interest-free loans of 150,000 Turkish liras, with a 48-month term and a two-year grace period for repayment.

Following the "Year of the Family" announcement, President Erdoğan occasionally targeted the LGBTI+ community in his speeches using descriptions such as “a global crusade targeting the family institution.”

Erdoğan and his ruling AKP have been increasingly attacking the already marginalized LGBTI+ community, particularly in recent years, and banned nearly all events and censored content related to LGBTI+ themes. 

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