Mihri İffet Pektaş (1895 – 4 July 1979), also known as Mihri Bektaş, was a Turkish school teacher and former politician. She is known as one of the first 18 female parliament members of Turkey. Mihri İffet was born in

Bursa Bursa () 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 Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

, then

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 1916, she graduated from Arnavutköy American High School for Girls 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 ...

. After graduation, she taught Turkish in the same institution between 1916 and 1918. After 1920, she began teaching

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

in various schools in Istanbul. She was also a part-time nurse. She was married to Hüseyin Pektaş, vice principal of

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

, and interpreter of the Turkish delegation at the Conference of Lausanne during 1922 and 1923.Dr. Fethi Tevetoğlu (1 November 1987) "volume: IV, November 1987". Archived 12 December 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2013
/ref> She was mother of two.

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, Istanbul, 1998, pp. 48, 59, 250 Four years later, on 5 December 1934, they gained full

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, earlier than most other countries. Mihri Pektaş 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

Malatya Province Malatya Province (; ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is 12,259 km2, and its population is 812,580 (2022). It is part of a larger mountainous area. Th ...

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 ...

. She was among the first 18 women members of the Turkish parliament.Turkish parliament page
/ref> She kept her seat in the parliament in the following two terms up to 5 August 1946.

Aftermath

After 1946, Pektaş resumed her teaching career, and between 1947 and 1950, she participated in the

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

. She died on 4 July 1979.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pektas, Mihri 1895 births 1979 deaths People from Bursa Alumni of Arnavutköy American High School for Girls Educators from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Turkish women politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Malatya Women's suffrage in Turkey Members of the 5th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 6th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 7th Parliament of Turkey Turkish schoolteachers