Every corner of Izmir, they are undertaking the most difficult jobs

Women working in different units of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality empower and add color to every part of the city where they live, from safety of life and property to transportation and cleaning.

They take on the toughest jobs in every corner of Izmir; It stands out not with stories of victimization, but with strength, courage, skills and achievements. Women working in different business lines of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality set an example for their fellows. Some courageously dive into the flames, some dominate the 120-ton train, delivering thousands of people to their loved ones every day. Who cultivates the champions of Turkey's talk for days. Here are a few of Izmir's strong, brave and resourceful and kind-hearted women ...

Izmir Metropolitan Municipality of Turkey's female firefighters 'fire walking brave women' as introduced. The people of Izmir, who realized that the hero firefighter who intervened in the fires was a 'woman' only when his duty ended, often lived in admiration and confusion. Female firefighters, who can easily use fire hoses that weigh 30 kilograms and squeeze water with a pressure of five bars, go through fires and climb the 50-meter fire ladder, undergo challenging training just like their male colleagues. Although a new and dangerous adventure awaits them every day, they never neglect to put on their makeup before starting the mission. Hülya Ercan is one of those firefighters.

"Man's job, they said you can't do it"
“I've been in the fire department for 5 years. Since I had never seen a female firefighter before, I didn't even know there were female firefighters. It was not my dream to do this profession, but since childhood I wanted to do a dynamic and different profession. I wanted to touch people's lives and lend a helping hand to them. Today, I intervene in all kinds of fire, human-animal rescue, traffic accident, suicide that you can think of. We heard a lot of rhetoric like 'Can a woman be a fireman ever'. They said how can you handle this job, they said that it is a man's job, you cannot do it, but I have shown that women can do anything that should be everywhere. Women should be in every field. He is very surprised when I tell my job to someone I have just met. 'Are you really going to the fire?' they ask. They cannot believe that women can do such a job, but we are here and doing this job ”

Sultans of the rails
Every day, female trainers who work as drivers in İzmir's 180-kilometer light rail system vehicles frequently appear in both metro and tramway. Actually this is the visible part of the job. From the repair of the tram to the maintenance of the catenary line, even the repair of the validator device, women touch every stage of the rail system. The sultans of the rails add color to the city transportation with their attention, order and smiling faces. Stating that there are difficult aspects of maintenance work as well as using the tram and requires a lot of attention, women dominate the railways of Izmir.

Tram driver Emine Ambarci explains what's going on:
“We went through six months of both theoretical and practical day and night training. Our environment and our family were surprised at first, but then they all got used to it. The reason I chose this profession was that it was both my dream and a very intriguing job. In fact, I have shown that women can also be in this field in line with my profession. Our profession is very demanding, requires attention and dedication. Izmir is used to seeing women in the driver's seat of the metro car, so they are no longer surprised when they see us while using the tram. Men, women, children, all passengers approach us with sympathy. The children are waving. I do what I love. My family and environment are proud of me. ”

Team bag at duty
Now, we are listening to two more women who work in İzmir's rail system:
Bahar Aksu (Planning and Mechanical Maintenance Engineer): “It is incredibly proud for me to serve in İzmir, whose rail system is developing day by day. Being the first female mechanical maintenance engineer of İzmir Metro A.Ş. is a completely different feeling. Working in a repair shop is difficult but not overwhelming. When I started my duty here, I took a tool kit and repaired the tram, 'What are you doing? I came across approaches such as sit down, we can do it 'but as we started to get involved, we started to work together, learning a lot from each other. It is possible to find female employees in every part of the tram. In my opinion, this situation is a result of the high self-confidence of the woman from Izmir. Izmir is a very modern city. First of all, people are very kind here… That's why we do our job without any problems. "

Tuğçe Tiriç (Maintenance Engineer): “I graduated from the railway systems engineering department. I am in my hands to control everything from catenary to tram line, transformer center, validator device. I have no difficulty in maintaining and repairing these devices. I am very happy with what I am doing now. We strive wholeheartedly to ensure that the transportation of İzmir residents is not interrupted by constantly visiting the line. If you see a yellow vehicle on the night tram line, know that it is in the repairs and I am in it. We can only maintain catenary wires at night. "

Strong woman fighter
A large number of women police officers working in the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality fulfill their duties properly, without lagging behind their male colleagues. In the field, they sometimes encounter peddlers, sometimes beggars, and often experience dangers. But thanks to a good education and a little bit of female sensitivity, they manage to overcome difficulties.

Sema Çiçekdağ (Police Officer): N For 11 I have been working in the municipal police. I worked in different units such as traffic, environment. Our mission is to work on the 24 hour basis, weekends, holidays, and without a weekend break. We are trained in close defense techniques, anger control and legislation. We operate everywhere from the most remote corners of the city to the city centers. We know every point of the city. Street street, neighborhood neighborhood, people with the headman, child, seller, shopkeepers, local services, everything we know the city with the park. This makes us a more active individual in our social life. Bu

Female drivers at work
There are drivers among the female employees of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Sıla Gökbulut and Özlem Yıldırım who shake their cars professionally in the city traffic i

Sıla Gökbulut (Unit Driver): “I have been working in İzmir Metropolitan Municipality for 1 year. Driving was a passion for me. I also turned my passion into a profession. Friends are not surprised when they first get in the car! But they all got used to it. We visit all districts of Izmir one by one during our duty. The most important feature that distinguishes me from my male colleagues is that I display the way I treat my children during duty, just as I drive when my children are in the car. Today, women are more active in traffic. It is not like the old one; There is also a bus driver and a tractor driver… That's why we women are everywhere. "

Özlem Yıldırım (Çöp Taksi Şoförü): ü I work as a team leader in cleaning works. I also use a garbage taxi. In the early morning hours, we go down to the field and collect the garbage. We have 38 women employees on the field. We make an effort to get up in the very early hours and make Izmir sparkling and immaculate. This is a city that really owns women. Izmir is more beautiful when the woman touches. Kadın

This record breaks hard
There is another woman behind the success of the female athletes of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, which has not won the championship for 13 seasons in the Underwater Rugby Federation Cup. Didem Özdem, who came out as a coach from the pool, which he entered as a student of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Sports School when he was a 5-year-old boy, proved his unrivaledness in this field with his team's numerous successes and records:

“A branch of underwater rugby, usually coached by men. If you really love to do a job, you will be able to overcome any task, no matter how many obstacles come in your way. Women are always more responsible, more disciplined. I also attribute the unrivaledness of our team to this success for a long time. In addition, 85 percent of the women's national team are athletes of the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. This is a great pride for me. ”