The life of educator Seniha Hizal, one of the first female meps of the Turkish Grand National Assembly

Ms. Seniha Nazif was born in Adapazarı in 1897. She started her education in Istanbul. She studied first at 'Fatih Rüşdiyesi', then at Girls' Art School and finally at İnas Darülfünun. She stepped into the teaching profession when she was a student at İnas Darülfünun. Her first place of duty was 'Darülmuallimat-ı Aliye Ana Mektebi'. Some of the schools where Ms. Seniha works as a school administrator, assistant administrator and teacher are as follows: 'İstanbul Kız Muallim Mektebi', 'Bursa Kız Muallim Mektebi', 'Feyziye Mektepleri' and 'Selçuk Kız Sanat Mektebi'. Seniha, who became the first woman inspector in Turkey by working as an education inspector in 1921 and 1926, opened her own school, the 'Yeni Türkiye Mektebi', in 1931. She became one of the first female deputies to enter the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a Trabzon deputy after the women were granted the right to elect and be elected on 5 December 1934. Seniha Hızal served in the 5th Term Parliament for four years and tookpart in various commissions. After saying goodbye to political life in 1939, she was appointed as an inspector again by the Ministry of National Education and continued this duty until the end of 1949. She returned to teaching at the vocational school and retired in 1954. She has never been married and devoted her life to raising the younger generations. She died in Istanbul in 1985. She has been recognized as one of Turkey's prominent Turkish women educators from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic.