The Islamist government of Turkey recently ousted its only Christian female mayor emid the continuing massive purging of politicians and officials in the country on the orders of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the failed coup attempt against him earlier this year.
Februniye Akyol, 28, the first Assyrian Christian to be elected co-mayor in Turkey, has been removed as mayor of the city of Mardin, located in southeastern Turkey, the Independent Catholic News reported.
Akyol was removed and replaced with another official appointed by the central government as part of Erdogan's efforts to crack down on politicians believed to be supporters of Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen, who is being accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt against the president while he is on exile in the United States.
The Christian woman was elected in 2014 and became the first follower of Jesus Christ to lead one of Turkey's 30 metropolitan cities. Akyol, daughter of a humble silversmith, ran under the ticket of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP in Turkish).
Akyol holds a master's degree on the Syriac language and culture at the Language Institute of Artuklu University in Mardin. She has used her public speeches and media appearances to express her support for policies to reduce city pollution.
She has repeatedly said in public that she wants to challenge the patriarchal mentality that still prevails in Turkey, and that she wants more policies to fight violence against women.
Akyol's co-mayor, the Kurdish Ahmet Turk, was also ousted and replaced by an appointee of the central government.
As of last week, Independent Catholic News estimated that the Turkish government has already purged 30 mayors suspected to be supporters of Gulen, or the left-wing Kurdish Workers' Party which has been deemed a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).
