Music career Born to a music-orientated family in
Kangal,
Sivas, Akkiraz and her family moved to
Germany during her childhood. After returning to Turkey, she released her first professional album,
Şafak Söktü, in 1983. Since then, she has worked with several other artists such as
Arif Sağ,
Musa Eroğlu, Muhlis Akarsu, Aşık Daimi, Feyzullah Çınar and Davut Sulari. Known internationally for her contribution to Turkish folk music, she has given concerts around the world and has worked with singers from different countries to help with their albums. Akkiraz has worked with London-based world jazz group
Grand Union Orchestra, releasing an album,
Echoes From Anatolia, and performing in their show
Where The Rivers Meet at
Sadler's Wells Theatre.
Political career In the
2011 general election in
Turkey, Akkiraz was elected as an MP from
İstanbul's 3rd electoral district from the opposition CHP. Following the
Soma mine disaster in 2014, Akkiraz announced her resignation from
Parliament for the
June 2015 general election, stating that having a parliamentary seat did not give her the ability to change the direction of the country. She proposed the joint resignation of all CHP MPs from Parliament as a protest against the governing
Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the then-Prime Minister,
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. ==Discography==