Selma Aliye Kavaf (born 1 July 1962) is a Turkish politician. She is the former Minister of State Responsible for Women and Family Affairs, and a

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Early life and career

Kavaf has graduated from the

Turkology Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative conte ...

department of Ankara University Language, History and Geography Faculty. She has worked as a teacher both in public and private schools for seven years.

Political career

Kavaf entered politics in 2002 after the foundation of Justice and Development Party. After the elections, Kavaf was promoted as the Founder General Presidency of Women's Branch of the Justice and Development Party. It is the first women organization of a Turkish political party in an institutional sense. In the elections of 2007, Kavaf was elected as a member of parliament. She is the first female MP from Denizli. On 1 May 2009, she was appointed as State Minister Responsible for Women and Family in the second cabinet of Erdoğan. She has stated that she opposes

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

, in her own words: "I believe homosexuality is a biological disorder, a disease. It needs to be treated." Her remarks sparked controversy and were protested by anti-homophobia activists in Turkey.Activists protest Turkish minister's remarks about gays
" ''Hürriyet'', 15 April 2010. Kavaf is one of the founding members of

Ali Babacan Ali Babacan (; born 4 April 1967) is a Turkish politician, economist, and engineer. He is the founder and current leader of the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). He served 13 years as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Economy, Chief ...

's newly formed

Democracy and Progress Party The Democracy and Progress Party ( tr, Demokrasi ve Atılım Partisi, DEVA, lit. Democracy and Enterprise Party) is a Turkish political party founded on 9 March 2020 under the leadership of Ali Babacan, a former economy minister under the AK ...

External links

*
Selma Aliye Kavaf
– Official Website *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavaf, Selma Aliye 1962 births Living people Deputies of Denizli Ankara University alumni Justice and Development Party (Turkey) politicians Democracy and Progress Party politicians People from Denizli Women government ministers of Turkey Government ministers of Turkey Members of the 23rd Parliament of Turkey 21st-century Turkish women politicians 21st-century Turkish politicians Ministers of State of Turkey Members of the 60th government of Turkey