Gülkız Ürbül (1901–1990) was a Turkish woman who became the first female
muhtar (
village chief) in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
in 1933. She later on changed her name to Gül Esin Aydın.
Background
Up to 1930, women had no political rights in Turkey. Beginning in 1930, they gained suffrage in local elections by Act no. 1580, dated 3 April 1930. Three years later, by Act no. 2349, dated 26 October 1933, the eligibility for the post of
muhtar was also included in suffrage.
Two weeks later, Ürbül was elected the muhtar in Demircidere village of the
Çine
Çine is a town and a district of Aydın Province, in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın, on the road to Muğla.
History
Throughout the ages this area has belonged to the Ionians, Caria, Lydians, Persia, Ancient Rome and ...
ilçe
The 81 provinces of Turkey are divided into 973 districts (''ilçeler''; sing. ''ilçe''). In the early Turkish Republic and in the Ottoman Empire, the corresponding unit was the ''kaza''.
Most provinces bear the same name as their respectiv ...
(district) in
Aydın Province
Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside re ...
, marking the first time a woman was elected a political office in Turkey. (The village of Demircidere was later declared a district named
Karpuzlu
Karpuzlu is a town and district of Aydın Province, in the Aegean region of Turkey, from the city of Aydın. It became a district centre after separation from Çine in 1990.
Karpuzlu is reached by turning off the road from Aydın to Çine. Ther ...
.)
Election and service term
In the 1930s, Gülkız Ürbül was one of the few literate village women in Turkey. During the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
, she had lost her husband and five of her six brothers. In the election campaign, she ran against seven male candidates and won the muhtar election. During her short term, she initiated the construction of a road between her village and Çine and founded a cooperative to build a village room. She also banned gambling.
Feedbacks
After the election, Mehmet Ali Bey, the governor of Çine, said that the district was proud to be the pioneer in having the first female muhtar in Turkey.
Recep Peker
Mehmet Recep Peker (5 February 1889 – 1 April 1950) was a Turkish military officer and politician. He served in various ministerial posts and finally as the Prime Minister of Turkey. He self-identified as a FascistÖzkaya, Ahmet. ''Recep Peke ...
, the secretary-general of the
Republican People's Party
The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...
(and later
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from 1946 to 1947), sent a
telegram
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
and congratulated Ürbül on becoming the first Turkish female muhtar and
political officeholder.
Death and legacy
Ürbül spent the last 20 years of her life in the
Nazilli
Nazilli is the largest town in Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, east of the city of Aydın, on the road to Denizli.
Etymology
Nazilli is a Turkish name that has somehow evolved from the former (also Turkish) name of P ...
district of Aydın Province, where she died on the 18 December 1990. In 2011, the municipality of Aydın erected a
bust
Bust commonly refers to:
* A woman's breasts
* Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders
* An arrest
Bust may also refer to:
Places
* Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France
*Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically
Media
* ''Bust'' (magazin ...
of Gülkız.
Haberciniz news page
/ref>
See also
* Women in Turkish politics
Women in Turkey have an active participation in national politics, and the number of women in the Turkish parliament has been increasing steadily in recent elections.
Background
The Republic of Turkey was founded on the ashes of the Otto ...
* Müfide İlhan
Müfide İlhan (19 February 1911 – 2 February 1996) was a mayor of Mersin, Turkey in the early 1950s. She is known as being the first woman mayor in Turkey.
Early life
Müfide İlhan was born on 19 February 1911 in İstanbul.Kudret Ünal:''Mü ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbul, Gulkiz
1901 births
1990 deaths
Karpuzlu District
People from Çine
Local politicians in Turkey
20th-century Turkish women politicians