Turkey to have first female pilot with headscarf

The regulation following the unsuccessful July 15 coup attempt has paved the way for Turkish women who wear headscarves to be pilots in the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). Merve Gürbüz, a student from Selçuk University's Computer Engineering Department, is set to be the first female pilot to benefit from the regulation was after she registered for the TAF orientation training.

Gürbüz first passed the exam for the Turkish Air Force Academy and then was subjected to a 10-day health check. The 23 year old also attended a large number of flight tests and 14 flight trainings.

The last phase of the process is the orientation training. Gürbüz will be the first TAF pilot who wears a headscarf if she passes the test.

The ban on wearing headscarves for female civilian personnel serving in the TAF was also lifted, according to a ruling published in the Official Gazette in November 2016.

The ruling says that women working in the TAF, Gendarmerie General Command and Coast Guard Command can now abide by the dress code of the other state institutions, which enables them to wear headscarves.

The military announced on its website on Feb. 1 that the personnel figures for the TAF increased since February 2016, with 362,284 military personnel now serving.

The figure jumps to 401,199 when the number of civilian personnel is added, according to the statement issued on the TAF website.

June figures showed that the number of gendarmerie personnel stood at 160,148.

According to the new statement, 201 generals and admirals and 29,434 military officers are currently on duty.

The figure for February 2017 is 3,000 more than that of February 2016, despite the dismissals from the military as part of the ongoing investigation into the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which is accused of responsibility for the failed July coup attempt that targeted the democratically elected government.

The bloody coup attempt accelerated Turkey's efforts to combat FETÖ.

On July 15, more than 240 people, including members of the security forces and civilians, were killed in Istanbul and Ankara and nearly 2,000 others were wounded as they protested against the coup bid.