Şafak Pavey

Şafak Pavey (born July 10, 1976)  is a Turkish writer and politician.  She is the first disabled woman in the Turkish parliament.  She is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2012 Pavey received the International Women of Courage Award from the U.S. Department of State.

 Life 

Pavey was born on July 10, 1976 in Ankara, Turkey. Her parents were Şahin and Ayşe Önal, a journalist. In 1994 she moved to Switzerland with her husband to study art and film. In 1996, Pavey lost her left arm and left leg in a train accident in Zurich. One year later, she went to London to study.  She studied international studies at the University of Westminster.  She finished her master's degree at the London School of Economics.

 Work 

Pavey worked for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).  She worked with aid in Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Syria.  She was the spokesperson of UNHCR for Central Europe in Hungary.  Later she worked with human rights for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Pavey wrote for the Armenian-Turkish bilingual weekly Agos in Istanbul.  She also wrote three books. She worked on projects for refugees with Harvard University, the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Norwegian Design Council.  She wrote the book 13 Numarali Peron (Platform Number 13) with her mother Ayşe Önal.  The book was about her train accident.  It was a best-seller in Turkey. She worked with writer and Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi to write the book "Refugee Rights in Iran".

Pavey returned to Turkey in 2011 and ran for a parliament seat. She became the first disabled female member of the Turkish Parliament.

 Awards 

 International Woman of Courage by the US Department of State
 Outstanding Young Person of the World Award by the Junior Chamber International
 Secularist of the Year 2014 by the UK National Secular Society

 References  

 Other websites 

 2012 International Women of Courage Awards, U.S. State Department photostream on Flickr 
Secretary's International Women of Courage Award (U.S. Department of State)

Category:Women who received the International Women of Courage Award
Category:Turkish politicians
Category:Living people
Category:Turkish writers
Category:1976 births
Category:Turkish journalists