Women and the Myth: The World’s First Woman Combat Pilot

Abstract

The current conscription law in Turkey dates back to 1927. The law was passed without much debate in the Grand National Assembly, except for a short but very significant discussion at the very beginning. The first article of the law suggested that “every man who is a citizen of the Turkish Republic, is hereby, given the obligation to perform military service.” When this article was read in the Assembly, one member, Hakki Tank Bey, had a question:

Sir, we see that here and there women are engaged in suffrage activities, asking for the right to vote and be elected for office. I personally believe that women should get this right. It is only a matter of time… If voting and becoming a candidate is a national issue, participating in the country’s defense is also a similar right, a similar duty. I realize that the first article of the compulsory military service law has only included men. I would like to ask whether you have taken women’s services into consideration, or to what extent. (TBMM Zabat Ceridesi [1927], 385)

He received two responses to his inquiry, neither claiming that women were incapable of fighting or doing military service or anything of that sort; rather both respondents acknowledged the participation of women in the Independence War and suggested that they were confident that women would do the same in the future, if that were needed. They did not need conscription for that! But apparently men did …

But the educated man’s sister—what does “patriotism” mean to her?

Virginia Woolf