Hatice Sabiha Görkey (1888 – November 22, 1963) was a Turkish school teacher, politician and one of the first 18 female members of the Turkish parliament.

Early life

Hatice Sabiha was born to

Hajji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Ismail and his spouse Ayşe in

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

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, ...

, then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1888. Her mother cared for the education of the children by working as a teacher for tailoring after her father died at her childhood. She finished Üsküdar Vocational High School for Girls in 1903, and graduated from Istanbul Dârülmuallimât (Teacher's College of Istanbul) in 1906.

School teacher career

On January 31, 1907, she went out to work serving as a school teacher for embroidery at Molla Gürani Vocational Junior High School. She was then appointed to Üsküdar Vocational High School for Girls (March 1908), to Kadıköy Normal Junior High School (October 1911), again to Üsküdar Vocational Junior High School (January 1912), to Açık Türbe Vocational High School (January 1914) and to Mal Hatun Vocational High School (October 1914). During the time she earned her life, she studied mathematics in Darülfünun, the former Istanbul University, graduating with the highest mark in 1917. She was one of the first five graduating female students of the university. In September 1917, she was appointed to Teacher's College in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

as the assistant principal and teacher of mathematics. She was deemed resigned after she went to Istanbul on her vacation and did not return to her duty. In February 1919, she was appointed to Teacher's College for Girls in

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...

as the assistant principal and mathematics teacher. She retained at these positions until September 1922. During her time in Edirne, she married to high school principal Kemal Görkey. From this marriage, a child was born. During the final years of the Ottoman Empire, she became unemployed between October 1922 and September 1923. She served briefly in 1923 as a mathematics teacher at Teacher's College for Girls in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

. From October 1923, the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, to August 1933, she was mathematics teacher at Teacher's College for Girls in

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...

, and then until February 1935 at a junior high school in

Tokat Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is located at the confluence of the Tokat River (Tokat Suyu) with the Yeşilırmak. In the 2018 census, the city of Tokat had a population of 155,00 ...

Politician career

According to the law of suffrage enacted in 1934,

Turkish women Women in Turkey are women who live in or are from Turkey. Turkey gave full political rights to women, including the right to elect and be elected locally in 1930 (nationwide in 1934). Article 10 of the Turkish Constitution bans any discrimina ...

were granted to vote and run for a seat in the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Görkey entered politics for 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 ...

(CHP), and was nominated for the 1935 general election. She was elected into the 5th Parliament as a deputy of Sivas. She became so one of the first 18 female members of the parliament. She served in the parliamentary committee for the interior during the four-years term. Following the 1939 general election, she retired voluntarily. Görkey died on November 22, 1963.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorkey, Hatice Sabiha 1888 births People from Üsküdar Darülfünun alumni Schoolteachers from the Ottoman Empire Turkish schoolteachers 20th-century Turkish women politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Sivas Members of the 5th Parliament of Turkey 1963 deaths Women's suffrage in Turkey