Ayşe Acar Başaran
{{short description|Turkish politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Ayşe Acar Başaran
| image = Ayşe Acar Başaran.jpg
| office = {{GNAT MP}}
| term_start = 23 November 2015
| constituency2 = Batman (June 2015, Nov 2015, 2018)
| predecessor =
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|10|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = Batman, Turkey, Turkey
| nationality =
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| party = Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP)
| otherparty = BDP
| alma_mater = Dokuz Eylül University
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| term_end = 14 May 2023
}}
Ayşe Acar Başaran (born 2 October 1985) is a Kurdish lawyer and politician of the People's Democratic Party (HDP). She is a current Member of Parliament for the city of Batman in Turkey. She was appointed spokesperson for the HDP Women's Council at the 4th HDP Party Conference in February 2020.
Early life
Başaran was born in Batman on 2 October 1985, as the second of the four children of Kurdish parents Abdurrahman Acar and Sultani Acar. After completing school education in Batman, she graduated from Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Law in 2010. Başaran worked as a lawyer for the Batman Bar Association for 4 years. She is a member of the Free Women's Congress Association.{{Cite web|url=https://www.haberler.com/ayse-acar-basaran/biyografisi/|title=Ayşe Acar Başaran Kimdir ? - Ayşe Acar Başaran Hayatı ve Biyografisi|website=www.haberler.com|access-date=2020-03-03}}
Political career
In 2013 and 2014, the HDP's predecessor party, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) provincial executive appointed Başaran to its women's council. In the June 2015 Turkish general election, Başaran was elected as the HDP's Batman deputy to parliament.{{Cite web|date=8 June 2015|title=Seçim Sonuçları 2015: Batman seçim sonuçları belli oldu!|url=https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2015/gunun-icinden/batman-secim-sonuclari-2015-genel-secim-son-durum-851405/|access-date=2021-04-05|website=www.sozcu.com.tr}} She was re-elected in the November 2015 Turkish general election.{{Cite web|date=2 November 2015|title=1 Kasım Batman Seçim Sonuçları Son Durum|url=https://www.sozcu.com.tr/2015/gunun-icinden/batman-secim-sonuclari-1-kasim-batman-secim-sonuclari-son-dakika-971524/|access-date=2021-04-05|website=www.sozcu.com.tr}}
In October 2018, Turkish police arrested many HDP members in the run up to local elections, including the co-chairs of the party in Batman, Nizamettin Toguc and Berivan Helen Isik on charges of supporting terrorism. Başaran accused the Turkish authorities of beating up her party colleagues and abusing the rule of law for political purposes.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/334c2f9e-60d8-4092-8bf9-b51523ab5c5d|title=140 Kurdish party members arrested last week in Turkey: HDP|last=|first=|date=|website=www.kurdistan24.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012234956/http://www.kurdistan24.net:80/en/news/334c2f9e-60d8-4092-8bf9-b51523ab5c5d |archive-date=2018-10-12 |access-date=2020-03-03}} In March 2019, Başaran stated that 713 party members had been arrested in the run up to local elections.{{Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/a14f4f17-6905-4c6d-854a-43df90e8e02d|title=Turkey arrests over 60 Kurdish politicians on eve of elections|last=|first=|date=|website=www.kurdistan24.net|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330191117/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/a14f4f17-6905-4c6d-854a-43df90e8e02d |archive-date=2019-03-30 |access-date=2020-03-03}}
In January 2020, Başaran criticised Turkish authorities in the aftermath of earthquakes which killed 39 people, saying "for the sake of [more] rent, the public's health and the right to life is ignored".{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/europe/why-president-erdogan-is-wrong-about-turkey-s-earthquake-preparedness-1.970515|title=Why President Erdogan is wrong about Turkey's earthquake preparedness|website=The National|language=en|access-date=2020-03-03}}
In February 2020, Başaran was included in the new HDP Party Assembly at the 4th Party Congress in Ankara,{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} but was not included in the Party's executive committee, having already served two terms. Instead she will take part in working groups, and was elected as chair of the party's Women's Council.{{Cite web|url=https://www.birgun.net/haber/hdp-umut-diyecek-288981|title=HDP 'Umut' diyecek|website=birgun.net|language=Turkish|access-date=2020-03-03}}{{Cite web|url=https://gazetekarinca.com/2020/03/hdp-kadin-meclisinin-yeni-donem-sozcusu-ayse-acar-basaran/|title=HDP Kadın Meclisi'nin yeni dönem sözcüsü Ayşe Acar Başaran|date=2020-03-01|website=Gazete Karınca|language=tr|access-date=2020-03-03|archive-date=2020-03-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303141153/https://gazetekarinca.com/2020/03/hdp-kadin-meclisinin-yeni-donem-sozcusu-ayse-acar-basaran/|url-status=dead}} As the spokeswomen for the women's branch of the HDP, she criticized the withdrawal from the Istanbul convention which defends women's rights.{{Cite web|date=11 May 2021|title=HDP MPs: İstanbul Convention is in effect!|url=https://m.bianet.org/english/print/243920-hdp-mps-istanbul-convention-is-in-effect|access-date=2 July 2021|website=Bianet}}
Legal prosecution
On the 17 March 2021, the state prosecutor Bekir Şahin demanded for her and 686 other HDP politicians a five-year ban to a political activity together with a closure of the HDP due to organizational links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=Turkish prosecutor seeks political ban on 687 pro-Kurdish politicians|url=https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-prosecutor-seeks-political-ban-on-687-pro-kurdish-politicians-news-56691|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-19|website=www.duvarenglish.com|language=tr-TR|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412234004/https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-prosecutor-seeks-political-ban-on-687-pro-kurdish-politicians-news-56691 |archive-date=2021-04-12 }} In July 2021 a request for the lifting of her parliamentary immunity was brought forward in the Turkish parliament.{{Cite web|date=1 July 2021|title=Summaries of proceedings against 20 MPs, including main opposition leader|url=https://bianet.org/english/politics/246606-summaries-of-proceedings-against-20-mps-including-main-opposition-leader|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210701104828/https://bianet.org/english/politics/246606-summaries-of-proceedings-against-20-mps-including-main-opposition-leader |archive-date=2021-07-01 }}
References
{{Members of the 27th Turkish Parliament}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Başaran, Ayşe Acar}}
Category:Democratic Society Party politicians
Category:21st-century Kurdish politicians
Category:Kurdish women lawyers
Category:Turkish Kurdish politicians
Category:People from Batman, Turkey
Category:Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey) politicians
Category:Members of the 25th Parliament of Turkey
Category:Members of the 26th Parliament of Turkey
Category:Members of the 27th Parliament of Turkey
Category:21st-century Turkish women politicians