Februniye Akyol ( Christian name: Fabronia Benno) is an Syriac-Assyrian politician and was co-mayor of Mardin. She is a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, and thus the first Christian woman to lead one of Turkey's 30 metropolitan municipalities.

Early life and education

Born to a silversmith and baptized as Fabronia Benno she studied the Assyrian language at the Artuklu University in Mardin. While she was still studying at the University pursuing her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

, she was asked by politicians of the

Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party ( tr, Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi, ku, Partiya Aştî û Demokrasiyê, BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 20 ...

to become a candidate for the mayorship of Mardin together with the Kurdish politician

Ahmet Türk Ahmet Türk (born 2 July 1942, Derik, Turkey) is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). He has been a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for several terms and was elected twice as the Ma ...

. It was the imprisoned Abdullah Öcalan who suggested that a female Syriac should run for the co-mayorship in Mardin. She first had doubts due to the Kurdish role in the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and Assyrian genocides but Türk, who as one of the first Kurds who apologized to the Armenian and Assyrian communities, eventually compelled her to run.

Political career

Akyol had to run for office with the Turkish name Februniye Akyol, due to long-standing limitations for the cultures and languages of ethnic and religious minorities in Turkey. Assyrians are not recognized as a Turkish religious minority, nor are they permitted to teach the Syriac language. The

Turkish constitution The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası), also known as the Constitution of 1982, is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government and sets out the principles and rules of ...

prohibits the use of other languages other than Turkish in both public as well as private schools. Put forward as a candidate by the BDP two months before the elections, she was elected co-mayor in the municipal elections on the 30 March 2014. The BDP splits all top posts between a man and a woman to boost female participation in politics. On the 17 November 2016 she and Ahmet Türk was dismissed as the Co-Mayors of Mardin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akyol, Februniye Women mayors of places in Turkey Mayors of places in Turkey Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Syriac Orthodox Christians Turkish Christians People from Mardin 21st-century Turkish women politicians Assyrians in Turkey Assyrian politicians