Skip to main content

First female deputy of religious body comes at tough time for Turkish women

Huriye Marti has assumed the highest office at Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs thus far by a woman, but is it a step in the right direction for the situation of women in Turkey?
Huriye_Marti.jpg
Read in 

Amid all the political turmoil in Turkey, there is some good news on women’s rights. For the first time in the Turkish Republic's history, a woman has been appointed deputy head of the country’s top religious body, the Directorate of Religious Affairs, or Diyanet. It is the highest office in the directorate ever held by a woman since the institution’s founding in 1924.

The appointment of Huriye Marti, a professor at Necmettin Erbakan University, became official March 13. She had previously edited and wrote at the directorate’s Hadith Project. In 2011, she headed Diyanet's Family and Religious Guidance Department. Among her writings is “The Traces of the Negative Image of Women in Fake Hadiths.”

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.