Şirin Tekeli (28 February 1944, Ankara – 13 June 2017, Bodrum) was a feminist, academician, translator, writer, activist and one of the pioneers of second wave feminism in Turkey.
In 1978, she obtained her associate professor title with her, at the time "controversial", habilitation thesis on women’s participation to politics named "Kadınlar ve Siyasal Toplumsal Hayat".
This thesis, had a great effect on her ideology, she recalls : "I was a "timid feminist" but by the time I finished it I saw clearly that women were being oppressed, exploited and excluded from the public sphere.
In 1980-81 she organized a seminar on the sociology of politics[2] After she left academia, she began an active role in the feminist movement of Turkey.
Seeing the 80s as the "years of action",[3] she dedicated herself to improve women's rights and raise awareness in Turkey via campaigns and protests.