Women's voices are now louder in politics!

94 years ago today! The most interesting article of the "Municipalities Law", which came into effect on April 4, 1930, was this:

Without any distinction between men and women, all citizens who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote, and all citizens who have reached the age of 25 have the right to be elected!

Thanks to this law, which came into effect 94 years ago today, Turkish women voted in municipal elections for the first time.

And one woman; Sadiye Hanım, became the first woman in the history of the Republic of Turkey to be elected mayor!

Sadiye Ardahan was not elected from Istanbul, not from Ankara, not from Izmir, but from one of our provinces in the eastern Black Sea region, from the Kılıçali town of Yusufeli, Artvin!

94 years ago today, Atatürk took Turkish women out of their traditional roles and showed them that they have a place and value in the construction of a nation and the development of a society.

He made women, who until that date were seen as inferior to men in social life, realize that they were equal citizens of society with men and had the right to an equal vote.

In no other country has any leader been so sensitive to women's rights,

And no one has put in as much effort as Atatürk.

Atatürk is an indomitable defender of women's rights and, in my opinion, the greatest feminist in history.

His speech on August 30, Victory Day, in Kastamonu in 1925 is hair-raising;

“Human society is composed of two genders, called men and women. Is it possible that we can advance one part of this mass while neglecting the other, and still have the integrity of the mass advance? Is it possible that while one half of a body remains chained to the ground, the other part can rise to the skies?”

FIRSTS IN LOCAL ELECTIONS AGAIN BELONG TO WOMEN

94 years later, women have broken their chains! The March 31 local elections are historic in many respects. For the first time in 47 years, it rose to the position of the leading party... The indescribable happiness of the March 31 municipal elections; it is the victory of women!

It is what we wanted most, what we longed for most, what we talked about, wrote, and drew the most, and what will make the most difference in social municipalism!

In 11 of our provinces and 61 districts, female mayors were elected! The 2024 local elections are the victory of female mayors. While the CHP produced the most female mayors with 32 names, 31 mayors were elected from the DEM Party. The AKP produced 8 female mayors in provinces and districts. While the New Welfare Party did not field candidates, only one candidate was elected from the MHP.

The mayor who received the highest number of votes in local elections at the provincial level in Turkey was again a woman!

DEM candidate Gülistan Sönük, who received 64.5% of the votes in Batman, a city we know for female suicides, achieved a historic victory. Now, instead of choosing to die, women have a young mayor who will listen to their troubles and find solutions to them. Batman's brave mayor Gülistan Sönük has already been dubbed Batwoman.

The highest vote rate at the district level again belongs to a woman. In the Lice district of Diyarbakır, DEM candidate Dilek Diyar Özer achieved the highest vote rate nationwide with 86.08 percent.

Ship engineer Sinem Dedetaş won Üsküdar for the CHP with a vote rate of 49.90% in Üsküdar, the stronghold of the AKP. Sinem Dedetaş became the first female mayor in the history of Üsküdar.

Competing as an independent candidate in the Kalkım town of the Yenice district of Çanakkale, 22-year-old Zeynep Çelik became Turkey's youngest mayor with a vote rate of 47.91%.

Now it is time for duty. By achieving many firsts in social municipalism over the next 5 years, they will not only prove themselves but also become role models for many women who want to step into the political arena.

For the first time in a long time, I have hope for my country.

The prices we paid and the pain we suffered were not in vain.

I thought "I wish" while looking at the map of Turkey painted in red, showing that the oppressive regime has dissolved...

If only our people who paid the price with their lives could have seen this victory...

The responsibility of those who have taken up the torch of victory is now higher.

To show what it means to be brothers and sisters, without discriminating by religion, language, sect, or political affiliation, and to be able to raise our country to the skies.

Is this possible?

Yes.

Because women's voices are now louder in politics!