Since a while ago, it has been possible for a woman in Turkey to use her own family name in addition to her husbands surname.  Anyone wishing including my wife took advantage of that.

Today, newspapers in Turkey have reported that from now on women can use solely their family names without having to adopt their husbands´ surnames. The change was made possible by the attempts of Dr. Baþak Çalý. She said, while the outcome of the case she opened was satisfactory, she still resented the fact that she had to go through legal stages to be able to use her own surname.

The verdict of the court legalizes women´s using their own surnames without having to adopt their husbands´ surnames from now on.

It is pretty weird that they were not able to use their own names before! However, since the law has changed now (I assume), Turkey is making another small step in the right direction. Among all the bad news everywhere, it´s good to see something positive, albeit small.

Catwoman....it was only one generation ago women in the USA have been able to use their own names....so it really isn´t that weird.

30 years ago, married women won right to keep names

more here....interesting historic legalistic read