Turkey's women's rights champion A champion of women's rights and education for poor children in Turkey, Turkan Saylan was also a leader in the fight against leprosy. Working as a dermatologist in Turkey, Dr. Saylan became active in the 1970s, founding the Turkish Leprosy Relief Association. She was a consultant to the World Heath Organisation on leprosy and a founder member of the International Leprosy Union. In 1989, Dr. Saylan helped found the Association to Support Contemporary Life, which focussed primarily on the education of young girls. Turkan Saylan died of breast cancer in Istanbul, the city where she was born.