EU chief says "sofagate" underlines urgency to fight for gender equality

BRUSSELS, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Ursula von der Leyen, the first female president of the European Commission, said on Monday that she was denied a chair during a high-level meeting in Ankara, which underlined the urgency to continue the career to fight for gender equality.

On April 6, von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on EU-Turkey relations. There were only two chairs for the three of them, and she eventually had to sit on a nearby sofa.

Von der Leyen argued that there was no justification for being poorly treated just because she was a woman.

"I felt hurt, and I felt alone, as a woman, and as a European," von der Leyen said with a disappointed tone when addressing a plenary of the European Parliament. "This shows how far we still have to go before women are treated as equals."

She added the incident left her more resolute than before to continue fighting for equality.

Following the meeting in Ankara, von der Leyen reiterated her "deep concerns" about Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention which combats violence against women and children, prohibits psychological violence, sexual harassment and stalking.

However, Turkey has rejected the accusations that it snubbed von der Leyen because of her gender, insisting that the EU's protocol demands were met.