The first Turkish Soroptimist Club was founded by distinguished Turkish author Müfide Feride Tek in Istanbul in 1948. After, Ankara Club was founded in 1951 and in 1953 Turkish Union was established under Soroptimist International Europe (SI/E). There are 33 Clubs in 12 cities in Turkey and nearly 1000 Soroptimist members.
The Turkish Union is named as Turkish Soroptimist Clubs Federation (TSKF) in Turkey. The numerical distribution of the clubs according to the cities is, 9 in Istanbul, 6 in Ankara, 5 in Izmir, 3 in Içel, 2 in Adana and Bursa and only one in Antakya, Denizli, Eskişehir, Karadeniz Ereğli, Konya and Samsun.
Soroptimists’ aim is to improve the status of women and increase their quality of life as they struggle for equality, development and peace by creating public opinion on human rights and the solution of women”s problems. Soroptimists struggle against ignorance. Providing educational scholarships and computer courses, health care and environmental care trainings, organizing meetings on various subjects and celebrating specific days of the United Nations are among the activities of Soroptimists.
In addition to providing service to the society, it is among the goals of Soroptimists to establish and strengthen friendship with Soroptimists abroad by attending international meetings and developing programs for the recognition of Turkey and Turkish women.
