Akkaya was born in the Kürkçü village of Sivas. Her native language is Kurdish. A graduate of İstanbul University, Faculty of Literature, Department of Social Anthropology, she is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Department of Sociology. Her published works include the Turkish books entitled Unutulmasın diye... Demokratik Kadın Derneği (2008) and Sanki Eşittik, 1960-1970’li Yıllarda Devrimci Mücadelenin Feminist Sorgusu (2011).