“We Can Defend Our Rights by Our Own Efforts”: Turkish Women and the Global Muslim Woman Question, 1870-1935
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“WE CAN DEFEND OUR RIGHTS BY OUR OWN EFFORTS”: TURKISH WOMEN AND THE GLOBAL MUSLIM WOMAN QUESTION, 1870-1935 Ansev Demirhan A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History. Chapel Hill 2020 Approved by: Cemil Aydin Sarah Shields Juliane Hammer Michelle King Didem Havlioglu ©2020 Ansev Demirhan ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Ansev Demirhan: “We Can Defend Our Rights by Our Own Efforts”: Turkish Women and the Global Muslim Woman Question, 1870-1935 (Under the direction of Cemil Aydin and Sarah Shields) This dissertation analyzes how Ottoman and Turkish women Muslim intellectuals established a set of arguments to advance women’s rights, through their engagement with the “global Muslim woman question.” Fighting against Orientalized misconceptions of Muslim women, these intellectuals engaged in both transregional and national debates about the rights, social positions, and “empowerment” of Muslim women. Of course, Western feminists and male Muslim modernists also debated the conditions of Muslim women, the causes of their problems and the solutions for their “oppression.” But historians have allowed their words to obscure Muslim women’s own intellectual visions, agency, and activism. As a corrective to this oversight, my project explores three different historical moments of globally engaged Muslim women intellectuals from the 1870s to the 1930s in the context of the late-Ottoman Empire/Republic of Turkey. And it moves beyond the question of how Muslim modernists reacted to European claims of Muslim women’s oppression, focusing instead on how Muslim intellectuals, especially Muslim women, initiated and developed their own conversations about the place of women in society. The debate this study examines appeared globally in the 1880s in an imperial context, continued during the Constitutional Era, and reemerged with renewed intensity during the cultural revolution and secularist reforms in Turkey during the interwar period. The dominant political forces and policies during these historical moments overruled the efforts of Muslim iii women intellectuals, and scholars have replicated their omission from historical narratives. Exploring responses to this question in a global context reveals how ideas permeated imperial, national and regional boundaries, challenging the notion that the advent of the nation-state gave rise to national debates on the woman question that eclipsed transregional identifications and global connections. In other words, national concerns on the proper role for women in society and politics did not replace the global Muslim woman question for Muslim women intellectuals. This study focuses on three moments in the emergence and evolution of the global Muslim woman question. Throughout each of these periods, global engagement, facilitated through the intellectual efforts of Muslim women, created a distinct conversation that simultaneously focused on the need for reform within Muslim traditions, while also countering Eurocentric liberal prejudices. The women in this study had to navigate a fine line between critiquing Orientalism and demanding more rights at home. The latter could easily be used as proof and justification by westerners that all Muslim women were, in fact, subjugated. I argue that the Muslim women who participated in this debate continually provided a double-critique on Eurocentric racial discourses on Muslim societies and gender inequality within their own societies. I further contend, these women consciously used an Islamic framework to demand their increased social and political rights because it enabled them to undercut the notion that Islam was at the root of their oppression. And, their reinterpretation of Islamic traditions undermined possible criticisms against their feminist agenda, by bolstering arguments for their rights with claims of religious morality. iv For the Kezbans in my life. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation was a collaborative effort and I could not have written a single page without the unending support and love of the following people. I want to begin by thanking my advisors Dr. Cemil Aydin and Dr. Sarah Shields. I can never fully express my gratitude to you both for your unfailing commitment in supporting me through this dissertation. I could not have wished for two more wonderful, helpful, and brilliant scholars as advisors. Your brilliance as scholars is only rivaled by your empathy as people. Thank you for believing in me and this project. I would like to also thank my other committee members, Dr. Juliane Hammer, Dr. Michelle King, and Dr. Didem Havlioglu. Both as feminists and scholars, each of you challenged me to be more thoughtful and intentional with my ideas. Each of you inspired and helped me develop the necessary tools to produce a feminist history of which I am proud. I would also like to thank my undergraduate mentors Dr. Carolyn Eichner and Dr. Tamara Zwick. I would never have pursued this dissertation without your belief in me. My years as a graduate student introduced me to some of the most amazing people and I am lucky to end this chapter of my life with friendships that inspire me to be the best version of myself. Thank you to Sarah Gaby, Jeanne Tilley, Eric Vreeland, Alexandria Faulkenbury, Evan Faulkenbury, Alyssa Bowen, Heather Hillaker, Lorn Hillaker, Rory McGovern, Jillian McGovern, Brian Drohan, Larissa Stiglich, Beth Hessler, and Mark Reeves. I especially want to thank Jessica Auer, Erika Huckestein, and Kirsten Cooper not only for your friendship, but for the edits, discussions, and emotional support. This project was made so much stronger because of your brilliant minds and willingness to help. vi I want to thank my friends, Amy Lewis, Katie Scott, and Dayna Brayman. You three are my chosen family and I cannot adequately express how much your love and friendship throughout the years gave me the confidence I needed to embark on this adventure. People say that moms need other moms. I completely agree. However, moms who are finishing a dissertation need a Jenny in their lives. Jenny, you are truly the nicest, most generous person. You gave your time and love to our family so that I could dive into the final stages of this project with total focus. My ability to finish this dissertation with an infant is in large part because of you. I could never repay your kindness. I want to thank my parents for their sacrifices, love, and belief in me. Both my mom and dad, for as long as I can remember, impressed the vital importance of an education and gave me the support to accomplish my academic goals. I would never have dreamed of pursuing a dissertation without this foundation. I want to thank my daughter Kezban. You were my greatest motivation and source of joy while I finished this dissertation. You reminded me every day that success is measured in more substantial ways than words on a page and degrees earned. Being a good mother and someone you admire will be my life’s greatest aspiration and success. Finally, Neil- from start to finish this dissertation, and all the sacrifices that come with it, was made possible because of you. Your selflessness, unlimited support, encouragement, and total understanding gave me the conviction to keep writing on the days it felt impossible. There are not enough words to express my depth of love and gratitude to you for taking this journey with me. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………….x INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………...1 CHAPTER 1: FATMA ALIYE AND THE GLOBAL MUSLIM WOMAN QUESTION…………………………………………………………………………...24 The Ottoman Empire, Global Networks, and the Movement of Ideas…………………..31 Muslim Modernists’ Lives and Intellectual Productions………………………………...39 Qasim Amin……………………………………………………………………...40 Şemseddin Sami………………………………………………………………….41 Muhammad Barakatullah………………………………………………………...42 İsmail Gaspıralı…………………………………………………………………..43 Moulavi Cherágh Ali…………………………………………………………….45 Mehmet Halil Halid……………………………………………………………...46 Fatma Aliye………………………………………………………………………48 The Global Muslim Woman Question…………………………………………………...54 Polygyny…………………………………………………………………………54 Arranged Marriages……………………………………………………………...61 Property Rights…………………………………………………………………..64 Divorce…………………………………………………………………………..66 Veiling…………………………………………………………………………...71 Education………………………………………………………………………...74 viii Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….79 CHAPTER2: “WE EXIST, WE HAVE AWOKEN, WE SHALL RISE”: GLOBAL FEATURES OF THE OTTOMAN WOMEN’S MOVEMENT AND KADINLAR DÜNYASI…………………………………………………………………….81 Ulviye Mevlan Civelek and Kadınlar Dünyası………………………………………….86 Ottoman Women’s Journals……………………………………………………………...90 The 1908 Revolution and Gender Reforms……………………………………………...95 Ottoman Women and the International Women’s Movement…………………………...99 The Global Nature of Kadınlar Dünyası……………………………………………….111 Reconciling Faith and Feminism and Activism Beyond the Pen………………………123 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...133 CHAPTER 3: “NOW SHE IS HOLDING THE CROWN OF WORLD FEMINISM”: THE NEW TURKISH WOMAN ON THE GLOBAL STAGE, 1923-1935…………………..135 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’ Answer to the Global Muslim Woman Question……………141 Keriman Halis and the “New Turkish Woman”………………………………………..147 International Women’s Congresses…………………………………………………….160 Halide Edip and the Global Muslim woman Question…………………………………171 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………...192 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………193