Gülkız Ürbül (1901–1990) was a Turkish woman who became the first female muhtar ( village chief) in Turkey 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 By ...

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 reso ...

, 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. The ...

Election and service term

In the 1930s, Gülkız Ürbül was one of the few literate village women in Turkey. During the First World War 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 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 Paz ...

district of Aydın Province, where she died on the 18 December 1990. In 2011, the municipality of Aydın erected a bust of Gülkız.Haberciniz news page
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urbul, Gulkiz 1901 births 1990 deaths Karpuzlu District People from Çine Local politicians in Turkey 20th-century Turkish women politicians

Background

Election and service term

Feedbacks

Death and legacy

See also

References