in June 1923, which however was not legalized because the Republic was not officially declared. With intense struggle, Turkish women achieved voting rights in local elections by the act of 1580 on 3 April 1930. Four years later, through legislation enacted on 5 December 1934, they gained full universal suffrage, earlier than most other countries. The reforms in the Turkish civil code, including those affecting women's suffrage, were "breakthroughs not only within the Islamic world but also in the western world". In 1935, in the general elections Eighteen female MPs joined the parliament, at a time when women in a significant number of other European countries had no voting rights. Equality of the sexes Beginning with the adoption of the Turkish Civil Code in 1926, a modified Swiss Penal Code, women gained extensive civil rights. This continued with women gaining the right to vote and stand for elections at the municipal and federal levels in 1930 and 1934, respectively. Various other legal initiatives were also put into effect in the years following to encourage equality. The Turkish Civil Code also allowed equal rights to divorce to both men and women, and gave equal child custody rights to both parents. Polygamy was permitted in the Ottoman Empire under special circumstances, with certain terms and conditions. The reasons behind the sanctions of polygamy were historical and circumstantial. Atatürk's reforms made polygamy illegal, and became the only nation located in the Middle East that had abolished polygamy, which was officially criminalized with the adoption of the Turkish Civil Code in 1926, a milestone in Atatürk's reforms. Penalties for illegal polygamy set up to 2 years imprisonment. Under the Islamic law, a woman's inheritance was half the share of a man whereas under the new laws man and women inherited equally. Besides the advancements, men were still officially heads of the household in the law. Women needed the head of the household's permission to travel abroad. Atatürk's Reforms aimed to break the traditional role of the women in the society. Women were encouraged to attend universities and obtain professional degrees. Women soon became teachers at coed schools, engineers, and studied medicine and law. Between 1920 and 1938, ten percent of all university graduates were women. In 1930, first female judges were appointed. Women's role models Atatürk's regime promoted female role models who were, in his words, "the mothers of the nation." This woman of