'Çiller' formula for women's surnames: 'I am not known by this surname'
A new claim has emerged regarding the regulation for women to use their own surnames, for which a legal arrangement has yet to be finalized despite the Constitutional Court's ruling that the current practice violates the 'principle of equality.' According to this, artists and politicians will be able to use their own surnames by stating, 'I am not known by this surname.'
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The Constitutional Court had signed off on a decision long awaited by women, annulling the provision in the Civil Code that allowed a woman to use her maiden name only in conjunction with her husband's surname, on the grounds that it was 'contrary to the principle of equality.' The Constitutional Court also gave Parliament a 9-month period to make a new arrangement. This period expired on January 28, 2024.
REGULATION DREW CRITICISM
Instead of a regulation in line with this decision, the government proposed in the 9th Judicial Package that women would not be able to use their maiden names alone after marriage; instead, it was proposed that a woman could use her maiden name before her husband's surname upon a written application to the marriage officer or later to the population registry.
This proposal met with great backlash from women, and it was stated that the article would be withdrawn.
CHILLER COMES TO MIND
According to the report by Ebru Karatosun from Hürriyet; a new formula is being considered regarding the regulation that stipulates 'a woman can only use her maiden name together with her husband's surname.' Famous figures such as artists and politicians will be able to use only their own surnames by saying, "I am known by this surname."
The proposed formula brought to mind Tansu Çiller, who served as Prime Minister between 1993 and 1996.
Tansu Çiller, Turkey's first female prime minister, did not take her husband's surname after marriage; on the contrary, she ensured that her husband used the surname Çiller.