Bursa's Osmangazi Theatre Stages 'Hey Taksi!' Play Spotlighting Turkey's First Female Taxi Driver

The Osmangazi Municipality in Bursa hosted the amateur theatre production “Hey Taksi!” at the Osmangazi Performance Center. The play, written and directed by Gülay Çelenk of the GÜÇ KAT Association for Disadvantaged Women, dramatizes the life of Muammer Hanım, Turkey’s first female taxi driver who began work in 1930, highlighting the social challenges women faced at the time.

The performance, attended by local audiences and municipal officials including Deputy Mayor Mutlu Esendemir and Mayor Erkan Aydın, received enthusiastic applause. Organizers said the play aims to showcase how the Republic’s early reforms enabled women to enter the workforce despite opposition, and to raise awareness of contemporary women’s shelters and support programmes.