User:Zkarcioglu

Biography of

MELAHAT RUACAN (1906-1974)
Image:Example.jpg A photograph of Judge Ruacan in her judicial robe in late 1960s. Melahat Senger-Ruacan, female Turkish high court judge was born in Istanbul in 1906, as the first child of Colonel Nuri and Güzide hanım. She attended high school at Erenköy Girls High School (Erenköy Kız Lisesi), an exclusive school in Istanbul and later studied Philosophy at The University of Istanbul. Following Kemal Atatürk’s establishment of Ankara as the new capital of Turkish Republic a new university was organized in this city. Melahat Senger moved to the new capital to attend Law School (Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi) from 1925-1929 and finished her studies as the first woman graduate of this new school with high honors. She married Asım Ruacan, a colleague in law, in 1938 and had one son. She worked as a judge throughout Turkey and in 1945 she was appointed to the Turkish Appellant Court (Yargıtay) as its first woman member and decided many crucial cases. During the politically turbulent years of Democratic Party (Demokrat Parti) administration (1950-1960) in Turkey she was forced to retire from her post because of her steadfast refusal to bend the principles of law to serve the political party in power. She successfully challenged her forced retirement in court, and reinstated to the Appellant bench in 1963 with full honors and compensation. Judge Ruacan was a fearless advocate of the principles of law was and also an untiring defender of woman’s rights in Atatürk’s Turkish Republic all her life. She died of a heart attack in Ankara, Turkey in 1974.

REFERENCES

Turkish woman’s rights in modern Turkey, 2008 http://turkishculture.blogspot.com/2008/10/turkish-womens-rights-and-position-in.html

İlklere imza atan Türk kadınları http://www.tumgazeteler.com/?a=1440622

Personal communication with Judge Ruacan’s son, Dr. Sevket Ruacan, 2010

Hiçyılmaz, E: Hukukun cesur kadınları. SABAH Gazetesi, 2004 http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/2004/03/17/cpsabah/gnc123-20040307-102.html