Ayşe Nur Zarakolu occupation human rights activist
Biography
She was born Ayşe Nur Sarısözen on 9 May 1946 in Antakya. A sociologist by education, she entered publishing in 1968 before moving to Istanbul University in 1970 as head librarian at the Institute of Financial Studies. Zarakolu wed Ragıp Zarakolu and mothered two children. Before her death of cancer in Istanbul on 28 January 2002, Zarakolu became a notable author, publisher, and human rights advocate. In 1976 or 1977, Zarakolu and her husband launched a publishing house, Belge (translated "The Document"), which published books on history and politics, as well as poetry, and in the 1980s, she also became the director of book-distribution company Cemmay; according to The Independent, she was "the first woman in Turkey" to hold such a position. In 1998, she helped found the İHD.
job profession career vocation employment