In 1934, prior to all Muslim countries and many Western states, Turkish women had full suffrage rights. Following the 1935 elections 4.5 percent of the members of parliament were women; since then this ratio has never been attained.

In the literature few reasons are put forward to explain why Turkish women gained the vote so early. First, and most important, is that female participation in public life was seen as one of the major reflections of the Turkish Republic's project of sec ularization, Westernization, and modernization. Second, it is argued that the early republican…