Bahriye Üçok facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bahriye Üçok
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Born | 1919 Trabzon, Turkey
|
| Died | October 6, 1990 (aged 70–71) |
| Cause of death | Letter bomb |
| Alma mater | Ankara University |
| Occupation |
|
| Political party | Social Democratic Populist Party |
Bahriye Üçok (born in 1919 – died on October 6, 1990) was a smart and brave Turkish woman. She was a university professor who studied theology, which is the study of religious beliefs. She was also a politician, a writer, a newspaper columnist, and an activist who worked for women's rights. Sadly, she was killed in 1990, and her case is still unsolved.
Contents
Her Early Life and Education
Bahriye Üçok was born in a city called Trabzon in 1919. She went to primary school in Ordu. Later, she graduated from Kandilli High School for Girls in Istanbul. She studied Medieval Islamic and Turkish History at Ankara University. This means she learned about the history of Islam and Turkey from a long time ago. At the same time, she also studied opera at the State Conservatory.
Becoming a Professor
For eleven years, Bahriye Üçok worked as a high school teacher in Samsun and Ankara. In 1953, she started working at Ankara University as an assistant. She earned her PhD in 1957. In 1965, she became an associate professor with her special study about Female Rulers in Islamic Countries. This means she researched women who were leaders in Islamic lands.
Later, she became a full professor. She was the very first woman to become a university professor in her faculty! She could speak Arabic and Persian very well. She believed in a modern and open-minded way of understanding Islam. She especially focused on how important women are in Islam.
Her Work in Politics
In 1971, Bahriye Üçok started her political journey. The President, Cevdet Sunay, chose her to be a senator. A senator is like a representative who helps make laws for the country.
In 1977, she joined a political group called the Republican People's Party. After a big change in the government in 1980, she helped start a new party called the People's Party. In 1984, people in Ordu voted for her, and she became a deputy in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. This is like being a member of parliament. In 1985, her party joined with another one and became the Social Democratic People's Party.
Her Tragic Death
Bahriye Üçok also wrote articles for a newspaper called Cumhuriyet. She once spoke on TV and said that wearing a head covering (Hijab) is not always required in Islam. After this, she started getting threats from a group called "Islamic Movement."
Sadly, on October 6, 1990, she was killed. She was trying to open a package that looked like a book in front of her house, but it was a letter bomb. Her death was a very sad event, and the people who did it were never found. She was buried in the Karşıyaka Cemetery in Ankara.
Selected Works
- Renegers in Islam and the First Fake Prophet (1967)
- Female Rulers in Islamic Countries
- History of Islam
- Umayyads - Abbasids in the History of Islam
- A Tiny Step in the Footsteps of Atatürk (1985)
- Daily Life of Muslims in the Middle Age (translation)
See also
- List of assassinated people from Turkey
- List of unsolved murders
- Women in Turkish politics
