Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), is no stranger to controversy when it comes to his remarks about women. Retorts he blurted out to female lawmakers he was arguing with at a parliamentary session yesterday were yet another instance of misogyny which drew widespread condemnation. Female lawmakers openly targeted by the politician held a joint press conference to denounce Kılıçdaroğlu while a prominent women's nonprofit organization issued a scathing statement with references to "dire" instances of his hatred and discrimination toward women.

"Get out of here, go back home if you are going to do gossip," Kılıçdaroğlu told a group of female lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party during a parliamentary debate before uttering "Do you have a special problem?"

Nine female lawmakers held a joint press conference immediately after the session, criticizing Kılıçdaroğlu for "insulting women." Hüsnüye Erdoğan, a lawmaker for central city of Konya, said they were discussing the transfer of CHP lawmakers to another opposition party when Kılıçdaroğlu lashed out at them. "We didn't answer him at the time as we did not want to stoop to his level. We don't have a 'problem' as he say but he apparently has one and this disturbs Turkish public. This is an insult against all women," she said. Ayşe Sula Köseoğlu, a lawmaker for northern city of Trabzon, said that they opposed "remarks degrading women."

Kılıçdaroğlu is known as a gaffe-prone politician with a history of misspelling names of his constituency and verses of national anthem but his controversial remarks on a string of issues is no laughing matter for many. The incident came a few days after the opposition politician slammed Ottomans for "cruelty" that drew the ire of a nation still respectful of the now-defunct empire.

His remarks about women in the ruling party in the past are deemed borderline sexist and degrading for his critics. Last year, he was ordered by court to pay compensation for his 2016 insult to then-minister of family and social policies Sema Ramazanoğlu. "The minister of family does not talk because she knelt before someone," Kılıçdaroğlu has said then.

Women and Democracy Association (KADEM), a leading women's non-profit organization, said in a written statement yesterday that enough was enough with Kılıçdaroğlu's "discriminatory and hateful speech toward women."

Referring to his "dire" statement that "legitimized violence towards women" by saying unemployed men would "of course" beat their wives," activists said they did not want to "witness the shame of [Kılıçdaroğlu] 'put women in their place' again."

"He almost told the female lawmakers that they should stay at home rather than serving at the parliament. He tried to degrade them by saying they were gossip mongers," the statement said.