Riha (Urfa)- Council members of Curnê Reş (Hilvan), a municipality won by the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Riha (Urfa), held their ordinary meeting on Monday, deciding to keep alive the names of Durre Kaya, one of the three women elected as the first female council of Curnê Reş in 1979, and the Kurdish politician Muhsin Melik, who was killed in an armed attack in Riha on June 2, 1994.

A women’s solidarity center located in the neighborhood of Yeni has been named after Durre Kaya and a tea garden, located in the neighborhood of Bağlar which is run by the municipality of Curnê Reş, has been named after Muhsin Melik.

Who is Durre Kaya

In the local elections held in 1977, Mehmet Veysi Bayuk, who participated in the elections as a candidate of the Justice Party, became the mayor of Curnê Reş. Mehmet Veysi Bayuk resigned from his position after six-month of resistance against the Suleymani tribe and over the objections.

After the decision for a snap election, local elections were held on May 6, 1979. Nadir Temel, who participated in the elections as an independent candidate but supported by the Kurdish Freedom Movement, was elected as the mayor of Curnê Reş. In the elections held in Kurdistan, women were also elected to the municipal council for the first time. Durre Kaya, Saadet Yavuz, and Emine Hacıyusufoğlu were elected to the municipality council. The co-mayor system was first implemented there. At the beginning of 1980, Nadir Temel and all the council members were removed from office and the mayor was replaced with a state-appointed trustee.

Durre Kaya, known as a woman who did not hesitate to speak out against injustice, passed away in Curnê Reş in 2011.