Aysel Ekşi (26 January 1934 – 14 May 2015) was a Turkish

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Early life and education

Ekşi graduated from the

University of Ankara Ankara University () is a public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the Turkish republic in 1923. History Ankara University was establish ...

Medical Faculty A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

in 1960. She worked in

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

and Goodmayes Hospital in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in the capacity of registrar and consultant psychiatrist, and was qualified as a psychiatrist by the University of Ankara in 1966.

Academic career

Ekşi worked from 1966 to 1967 at the

Mental Health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

Dispensary A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital, industrial plant, or other organization that dispenses medications, medical supplies, and in some cases even medical and dental treatment. In a traditional dispensary set-up, a pharmacist dispense ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, as a specialist at the

Ankara University Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

Medical-Social Center from 1967 to 1974, and as the Director of the

University of Istanbul Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, it was reformed as the fi ...

Medical-Social Center between 1972 and 1982. She qualified as an

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in 1976 and a professor in 1982. From 1983 to 2001 she was a faculty member of University of Istanbul

Pediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

Health Institute and the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, where she conducted

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

about

child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

and

adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Activism

Ekşi became involved in the late 1980s in activities to protect the

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...

culture of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

from what she perceived to be threats posed by the

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishin ...

movements. She organized panels,

symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

s and conferences, and organized a march of 1000 women in Çağlayan, Istanbul in January 1989 to raise awareness of the dangers of fundamentalism. She collected thousands of

signature A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, Handwriting, handwritt ...

s from women who supported the secular nature of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, which were presented to then President

Kenan Evren Ahmet Kenan Evren (17 July 1917 – 9 May 2015) was a Turkish military officer and dictator who served as the seventh president of Turkey from 1980 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup. On 18 June 2014, a Turkish cou ...

. Ekşi initiated, wrote and organized a number of declarations at the University of Istanbul promoting awareness of the "Core Value of the Republic of Turkey". Ekşi organized teams of

volunteers Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...

before the 2007, 2009 and 2011 elections, for the purpose of raising awareness of what she considered key issues of the country. Ekşi and some of her colleagues, in 1989, formed Cagdas Yasimi Destekleme Dernegi (The Association for the Support of Contemporary Living) where Aysel Ekşi was elected as the Founding

Chairwoman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

. She held this role until June 1990.

Publications

Ekşi wrote four published

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

s about psychiatry and was

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of the book ''I'm Not Ill'', also about psychiatry. Ekşi wrote a book containing allegations of

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

called ''Armenian Genocide''. Ekşi was also the editor of the book ''Historical facts with documents and witnesses''. Ekşi's latest book ''The Youth of Turkey and Youth of Five Continents'' published by Nobel Books Publishing contains the results of eight years of research into adolescent psychiatry. Her research articles have been published in various international journals of science. One of the most recent published was a study of the psychological condition of children who lost relatives or loved ones in the August 1999 earthquake in the Marmara region of Turkey.

Associations and community service

Ekşi as a member of Neuropsychiatry Association, Pediatric Psychology Association, Adolescent and Pediatric Foundation and the Children's Kidney Foundation. Ekşi was elected to the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of ÇEKUL (Cevre ve Kultur Degerlerini Koruma ve Tanitma Vakfi – The Foundation for the Protection and Promotion of the Environment and

Cultural Heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

). At CEKUL, she originated and implemented the "7 Trees" programme. On the assumption that each individual consumes approximately seven trees in a year, at least seven trees are planted for each participant of the campaign. More than 2 million trees have been planted in Istanbul and its environs as a result of the programme. Ekşi was elected as President of Bizim Ulke Association (Our Country). This association provided

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

children living in less privileged

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

s of Istanbul with summer and weekend activities and courses in

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

foreign language A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at schoo ...

s, and

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

. Bizim Ulke Association organised "

First Aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with a medical emergency, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery until medical services arrive. First aid is gener ...

Training Courses" for school children and the public after the August 1999 Marmara earthquake.

Personal

She was married to

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Oktay Ekşi Osman Oktay Ekşi (born 7 December 1932) is a Turkish journalist, author and politician. He has spent much of his career at the newspaper ''Hürriyet'', and was its Chief Columnist from 1974 to 1983 and from 1985 to 2010. A founding member and v ...

, and the mother of two sons Mehmet and Özgür. She died in May 2015."CHP’nin vaatleri"
''Millyet'', Melih Aşık. 30 September 2015.