The woman who touched Anıtkabir

Eleven years before his passing, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk requested that female students also be admitted to the School of Engineering (today's Istanbul Technical University).

Hearing this news at the last minute, Sabiha Rıfat (Gürayman) applied to the School of Engineering just two days before the exams. She passed the exam successfully and became the first female student of the School of Engineering, where 350 male students were enrolled. What changed the life of Sabiha Rıfat, who earned the right to become Turkey's first female engineer at Atatürk's request, was being deemed worthy of the position of chief control engineer in the construction of our Father's mausoleum, Anıtkabir. 

Sabiha Rıfat being chosen as one of the engineers of Anıtkabir was an opportunity to repay her debt to Atatürk. She worked with passion, without taking a breath. She placed her profession at the most important center of her life. She would appear before the President of the period, Celal Bayar, and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who came to Anıtkabir to follow the construction closely, and provide them with information about the progress of the work each time. Although the construction of Anıtkabir stalled from time to time due to difficulties created by foreign firms regarding the procurement of materials while the Second World War was ongoing, it was completed on time thanks to Sabiha Rıfat's determination and perseverance.

Sabiha Rıfat Gürayman described her excitement at being chosen as a control engineer for Anıtkabir in an interview she gave to Milliyet Newspaper in 1973 as follows;

"It was a winter day in 1945. Since the roads were in poor condition, we set off towards Rasattepe only by horse-drawn carriage. The road was muddy, and the weather was freezing. There was an observatory building on the land that didn't even have a stove inside. This place would be used as the construction site office from that day on. That day, I handed over the construction site to the contractor. I was incredibly moved. I thought about the long years I had left behind and the path I had walked. I was crushed under the weight of my debt to the great revolutionary. What a beautiful coincidence this was to be able to pay back at least a tiny piece of this debt."

Sabiha Rıfat Gürayman was a determined person who set her mind on making a difference. She became a pioneer by doing things that many people would not dare to do in her profession. She was fearless. She went down in history as the first female engineer to build a bridge in Anatolia. 

With her strong personality and determination, Sabiha Rıfat, who showed future generations that women could even be engineers, is just one of the hidden heroes of our history.

I highly recommend reading the book titled “The Woman's Touch at Anıtkabir: Sabiha Rıfat Gürayman,” written by researcher and author Günseli Naymansoy and published by İş Bankası Yayınları in 2022. I will also buy and read Günseli Naymansoy's other books about the pioneering women of the Republic immediately.

While reading Sabiha Rıfat's biography, in these days when we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Republic, I understood better that the Republic was a revolution for women.

For women whom Mustafa Kemal Atatürk brought out from behind four walls, granted the right to be equal citizens, provided representation in every field, and enabled to gain the right to vote and be elected, our Republic is a revolution. Secularism is the jugular vein of this revolution. Atatürk, who not only established the secular Turkish Republic in the Muslim geography but also included women in its 10-year miraculous development, achieved the impossible. In his dictionary, there is no such thing as impossible. Impossible is just what has not been tried before.

As we enter our 100th year, I strongly wish for this; as educated women raised by the Republic of Turkey, we have a debt to pay to Atatürk. To reveal the strength, courage, and perseverance within us. It is the youth and women of this country who will carry the Republic of Turkey forward. It is time to take action, not to complain. Just as the pioneering women of the Republic who made the impossible possible in the past succeeded, we too CAN DO IT!

While commemorating the great Atatürk, with respect and gratitude to Sabiha Rıfat, the brave woman who managed to become Turkey's first female engineer thanks to our Father and who contributed greatly to the construction of Anıtkabir…