Huriye Baha Öniz (1887 – November 2, 1950) was a Turkish educator and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Baha was her father's name and Öniz was the surname which she had assumed after the

Surname Law The Surname Law () of the Republic of Turkey is a law adopted on 21 June 1934, requiring all citizens of Turkey to adopt the use of fixed, hereditary surnames. Prior to 1934, Turkish families in the major urban centres had names by which they were ...

. She was amongst the first group of women elected to the Turkish parliament.

Life

Huriye Baha was born to Baha and Ayşe in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, then the capital of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, in 1887. After primary and secondary schools in İstanbul, she studied teaching at

Bedford College, London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in highe ...

. She married Hayrettin, and gave birth to a son named Sinasi Ali.

Teaching career

During the Ottoman Empire era, she served in İstanbul as a teacher in various schools for girls. She also served as an educator for people of Turkish descent from Balkan countries who escaped to İstanbul after the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

(1912–1913). During the Republican era beginning by 1926, she served in various missionary schools in İstanbul. She taught in a Greek school in 1926, in a Jewish school in 1928 and in an Italian school in 1927. In 1933 she was working in an Armenian school and in a Greek School in 1934. After political career, she continued in an Italian school in 1939. In 1946, she taught in

Erenköy Girls High School Erenköy Girls High School (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Erenköy Kız Anadolu Lisesi'') is a public girls high school in the Erenköy, Kadıköy, Erenköy neighborhood of Kadıköy district in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1911 during the Ottom ...

, and finally in 1949 Beyoğlu Girls School. Huriye Baha Öniz died in İstanbul on 2 November 1950.

Political career

Turkish women Women obtained full political participation rights in Turkey, including the right to vote and the right to run for office locally, in 1930, and nationwide in 1934. Article 10 of the Turkish Constitution bans any discrimination, state or pri ...

achieved voting rights in local elections on 3 April 1930.''Türkiye'nin 75 yılı'', Tempo Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1998, p.48,59,250 Four years later, on 5 December 1934, they gained full universal suffrage, earlier than most other countries. In 1935, for the first time 17 women were elected into the

5th Parliament of Turkey The 5th Grand National Assembly of Turkey existed from 8 February 1935 to 3 April 1939. There were 444 MPs in the parliament all of which were the members of the Republican People's Party (CHP). 5th parliament was the first Turkish parliament in wh ...

. Huriye Baha Öniz joined the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(CHP), and was elected in the general election held on 8 February 1935 from

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

. In the parliament, she was a member of the commissions of the Forestry, Highways and the Airplane Factory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oniz, Huriye Baha 1887 births Alumni of Bedford College, London Schoolteachers from Istanbul Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 5th Parliament of Turkey Deputies of Diyarbakır 1950 deaths 20th-century Turkish women politicians Women's suffrage in Turkey