Ankara: For the first time in the history of the Turkish armed forces, Ozlem Yilmaz has announced as female general on August 13, Anadolu Agency reported.
Ozlem Yılmaz was appointed by the decision of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ozlem was promoted from the rank of colonel to brigadier general. She will occupy the position of Vice President of the gendarmerie and coast guard academy in the general command of the Turkish gendarmerie forces.
Prior to that, major general Ozlem Yilmaz was the head of the directorate for combating domestic violence and the children’s division of the gendarmerie general command.
Ozlem obtained the rank of first major general after she moved between a number of rural areas with teams to combat domestic violence and support children, where she made great efforts to prevent violence against women.
As per media reports, Ozlem provided training to support women and explain the rights they enjoy, after conducting studies to provide brochures and media texts that are suitable for women and benefit men as well.
Ozlem in a interview with the Turkish daiy Hurriyet in 2018 said, when she was the commander of the general command of the gendarmerie forces, combating domestic violence and the children’s branch, “Violence against women is a bleeding wound in society. We must not be satisfied with dressing the wound, but it must also be healed.”
She pointed out that there are many women who remain silent about violence because of family pressure, fear of the husband, and social pressure.
At that time, Ozlem appealed to all women not to remain silent about violence and to demand their rights, stressing the need to contact the gendarmerie in case they encounter any form of violence.
It is noteworthy that Ozlem was born in 1976 in Istanbul, and graduated from the military academy in 1997 with the rank of lieutenant.
