Bakiye Beria Onger (1921 – February 14, 2015) was a Turkish feminist activist and writer, a pioneer of the progressive women's movement in Turkey. She led the Progressive Women's Organization of Turkey until it was banned ahead of the 1980 coup. Onger also ran for Senate as a member of the Communist Party of Turkey in 1979.

Early life and education

Beria Onger was born Bakiye Beria Hanım in

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

, Ottoman Empire, in 1921. She studied to become a lawyer at

Ankara University, Law School The Ankara University, Law School ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi formerly known ''Ankara Adliye Hukuk Mektebi'') is a faculty for law of the Ankara University in Turkey. History Ankara University, Law School, was founded as a par ...

, graduating in 1941. She worked as a government civil servant, then began practicing law independently in 1957.

Activism

Onger founded a small organization of women activists in 1965. Then, in 1975, she became the founding president of , the Progressive Women's Organization of Turkey, which fought for women's democratic and economic rights. She also worked as a journalist, publishing articles in defense of women's rights in the newspaper '' Cumhuriyet'' and trade union magazines, including '' Akşam'' during the years when it was owned by the

Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions The Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions, ( tr, Türkiye İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu) known as TÜRK-İŞ, is one of the four major national trade union centers in Turkey. It was created in 1952 and is the oldest of the four centers, havin ...

. She also owned the newspaper that was the official organ of the Progressive Women's Organization, ''Kadınların Sesi'' (Women's Voice). Onger published several books and booklets on the liberation of women in Turkey. She ran the Progressive Women's Organization until it was shut down by the government in 1979. Onger was also a founding director of the , which operated from 1977 until it was banned in 1980. In the

1979 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1979. Africa * Algeria: presidential election * Benin: parliamentary election * Botswana: general election * Gabon: presidential election * Ghana: presidential election * Kenya: general election * Mal ...

, she ran for a seat in the Senate of the Republic as an independent candidate affiliated with the Communist Party of Turkey. She received 22,000 votes in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

but was not elected. She was forced to flee abroad after the

1980 Turkish coup d'état The 1980 Turkish coup d'état ( tr, 12 Eylül Darbesi), headed by Chief of the General Staff General Kenan Evren, was the third coup d'état in the history of the Republic of Turkey, the previous having been the 1960 coup and the 1971 coup by ...

, but later returned to Turkey.

Personal life

Onger was married to the writer and critic Fahir Onger from 1946 until his death in 1971. The couple had two children. She died in Istanbul in 2015, and is buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onger, Beria 1921 births 2015 deaths Turkish women's rights activists Turkish women journalists Turkish women writers Turkish exiles Communist Party of Turkey (historical) politicians Turkish feminist writers