Turkish Women in Parliament The most remarkable proof of the
changes that have come over Turkey under the regime of Mustapha Kemal is the admission of women to the full franchise on equality with men (at the age of twenty-three), and to the right to sit in Parliament. No fewer than seventeen presented themselves as candidates at the recent General Election, and all were returned. Party politics, however, are not tolerated, and the Republican People's Party has it all its own way ; but (at the instigation of the Ghazi) it has shown its desire for criticism, if not opposition, by permit- ting thirteen Independents to become deputies ; and it is significant of the new spirit of toleration that a Jew, a Greek and an Armenian are to take their seats in Parlia- ment. The despotism of Mustapha Kemal is a benevolent one. While not permitting the full development of western democracy, he has insisted on reforms which have -conferred social freedom and has created at least a training ground for political freedom. Contrast this with the repressive absolutism of the Sultans and the tyrannical oligarchy of the Young Turks.
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