Sema Ramazanoğlu (born August 25, 1959) is a Turkish politician from the

Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...

(AKP) who served as the Minister of Family and Social Policy in the third cabinet of Prime Minister

Ahmet Davutoğlu Ahmet Davutoğlu (; born 26 February 1959) is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party (Turkey), Justice ...

from 24 November 2015 to 24 May 2016. She is the second cabinet minister of Turkey to wear a headscarf, after her predecessor as Family and Social Policy Minister Ayşen Gürcan. She serves as a Member of Parliament for the

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Denizli Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024. Denizl ...

since being elected in the snap general election on 1 November 2015. Before becoming an MP and a cabinet minister, Ramazanoğlu served as an advisor to former Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

from 2003 to 2009 in his capacity as AKP leader, having also been one of the founders of the AKP. She has served on the party's Central Executive Decision Board (MKYK). Her sister,

Selma Aliye Kavaf 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 for Denizli of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). In the 202 ...

, was also an AKP Member of Parliament from 2007 to 2011 and served as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

responsible for women and social policy between 2009 and 2011. Ramazanoğlu faced large-scale criticism and calls for her resignation after it was revealed that 45 children staying at illegal dormitories owned by the Ensar Foundation, a pro-government religious education provider, had been raped by one of Ensar's teachers in

Karaman Karaman is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the seat of Karaman Province and Karaman District.Denizli Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024. Denizl ...

. She is married to Yıldırım Mehmet Ramazanoğlu, who is also a politician. She graduated from

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 ...

as a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

and later travelled to

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

to specialise in the field of

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

. While working in universities and hospitals in Switzerland, she was active in both Turkish and Islamic societies living in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. As a surgeon, Ramazanoğlu worked for over 20 years in numerous well known state hospitals and also participated in the administration of health-related foundations, such as the Women's Medics Association (KASAD-D). She was also a member of the Caspian Education, Culture and Solidarity Association. She participated in the establishment of and worked in a private clinic 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 ...

Early political career

Women's rights

Ramazanoğlu was actively involved in the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...

(CEDAW) foundation in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, helping with the presentation and providing guidance with the preparation of reports regarding Turkey. Besides the United Nations, Ramazanoğlu has also participated in several other international organisations dealing with women in the contemporary world. She has represented the AKP in numerous events regarding problems women face in Turkey and the Islamic World. She has also been a columnist for the 'Woman and Family' (''“Kadın ve Aile”'') magazine. Ramazanoğlu is also a founding member of the Wise Women Advisory Board of the

Islamic Development Bank The Islamic Development Bank (, abbreviated as IsDB) is a multilateral development finance institution that is focused on Islamic finance for infrastructure development and located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There are 57 shareholding member st ...

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. She acted as an honorary advisor to the president of the board in projects concerning women and family policies, proposals and the planning and implementation of projects.

Justice and Development Party

In 2001, Ramazanoğlu participated in the establishment of the

(AKP) and has been a member since. In 2003, she was elected to the Central Executive Decision Board (MKYK) and was re-elected in 2006, serving until 2009. She also served as an advisor to Prime Minister and party leader

. Her sister

was also a former AKP MP and a

Minister of Family and Social Policy

Ramazanoğlu was fielded as a second preference candidate for the

by the AKP and was elected in the November 2015 general election as a Member of Parliament. Ramazanoğlu was appointed as the Minister of Family and Social Policy in the 64th government of Turkey by Prime Minister

on 24 November 2015. She is the second minister in the history of Turkey to wear 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 ...

, the first being her predecessor Ayşen Gürcan.

References

External links