"Woman judge to head senior Turkish court
ANKARA - Members of Turkey's top administrative court Tuesday elected a woman judge to chair the tribunal, the court said.
The election of Sumru Cortoglu, 63, as the chairwoman of the Council of State brings to two the number of women at the helm of Turkey's four most senior courts.
Last year, Tulay Tugcu became the first woman to head the Constitutional Court, which is the country's top judicial institution.
Turkey, a Muslim majority but strictly secular country, is under pressure to improve women's rights as part of its bid to join the European Union.
Turkish women have been encouraged to join public life since the founding father of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, granted them suffrage rights in 1934, years before women in many European countrie were allowed to vote.
In urban areas, women are emancipated to the point of claiming jobs as football referees and fighter pilots, but many are still in the grip of diehard patriarchal traditions.
Turkey's first and only woman prime minister was Tansu Ciller, who led the country between 1993 and 1996.
The current government includes only one woman minister and about 20 women hold seats in the 550-member parliament."
More:The Anatolia Times
