BRUSSELS - Turkish State Minister Nimet Cubukcu said, "exclusion of women from efforts to find solutions to many problems --from fight against terrorism to human rights and economic development to democratization-- does not yield results or the desired results."
Cubukcu took the floor at a conference on "women`s role in inter-cultural dialogue" organized by European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday.
She said lack of dialogue among cultures was one of the basic problems of present day, and women had the potential of undertaking important roles to eliminate absence of inter-cultural dialogue in the world.
Cubukcu warned that as distance increases between Eastern and Western societies, prejudices and intolerance are filling this gap. She said many countries as well as international community --which were searching for solutions against concerning developments-- extended support to Alliance of Civilizations Initiative co-sponsored by Turkey and Spain.
Cubukcu said women from different cultures and civilizations should discuss what can be done against prejudices, generalizations and polarizations which prevent them from knowing each other.
She said every initiative which were launched in education, employment and politics area without participation of women became unsuccessful.
(GC-MS)