Hatice Özgener (1865 – February 21, 1940) was a Turkish school teacher, politician and one of the first 18 female members of the Turkish parliament.

Early life

Hatice was born to

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Mustafa and his spouse Fatma in

Sanjak of Salonica The Sanjak of Salonica or Selanik (Ottoman Turkish: ; el, λιβάς/σαντζάκι Θεσσαλονίκης) was a second-level Ottoman province (''sanjak'' or '' liva'') encompassing the environs of the city of Thessalonica (Salonica, Turkis ...

Ottoman Greece Most of the areas which today are within modern Greece's borders were at some point in the past part of the Ottoman Empire. This period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence t ...

in 1865. She was schooled in the "Red School", and then attended the newly-opened Girls' Secondary School in Thessaloniki.

School teacher career

Hatice was appointed assistant teacher at the Girls' Secondary School in Thessaloniki, serving at this position from October 1878 to September 1885. End September 1894, she resigned from her assistant teacher post at the Secondary School. In August 1900, she returned to the same school as a teacher and served until end November 1911, in the last months teaching also drawing. Between December 1912 and March 1913, she received special payment from the government due to the occupation of Thessaloniki by Greeks during the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...

in 1912. She served as a teacher of history at several schools 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, ...

, such as at Istanbul Teacher's College (from March 1913), Süleymaniye Girl's Secondary School (from March 1914), Istanbul Industrial Vocational School for Girls (from December 1914) and Kadıköy Orphanage School for Girls (from March 1915). In 1919, she was promoted to principal at Çağlayan Orphanage School. She ended her career resigning in August 1924 after she was appointed a teacher at Beykoz Orphanage School one month earlier.

Politician career

Inline with 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 ...

. She was nominated by 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) in the intermediate election held on January 12, 1936. She became a member of the 5th Parliament as a deputy of

Çankırı Province Çankırı Province ( tr, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey, which lies close to the capital, Ankara. The provincial capital is Çankırı. Economy Çankırı is primarily agricultural with wheat, beans, corn and tomatoes the most c ...

. She was so one of the first 18 female members of the parliament joining the 17 female members, who entered the parliament already following the 1935 general election. During her term, Özgener served in the parliamentary commission of Health and Social Welfare. Hatice Özgener attended the parliamentary sessions wearing a modern hat instead of a

headscarf A headscarf is a scarf covering most or all of the top of a person's, usually women's, hair and head, leaving the face uncovered. A headscarf is formed of a triangular cloth or a square cloth folded into a triangle, with which the head is cov ...

, which was usual before the 1934 ban of religion-based clothing.

Later years

Hatice Özgener died on February 21, 1940.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozgener, Hatice 1865 births Politicians from Thessaloniki Educators from the Ottoman Empire Turkish schoolteachers 20th-century Turkish women politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Çankırı Members of the 5th Parliament of Turkey 1940 deaths