The Ottoman Women's Movement: Women's Press, Journals, Magazines and Newspapers from 1875 to 1923
Ottoman women lived under Islamic law and the strict values of an Islamic society with some legal recognition by the state until the big transformation of the Ottoman state and society in the nineteenth century. Though there was a form of divorce law, it was only used by sisters and daughters of the sultans to solve heredity and property problems. Following the transformation in Europe in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, the Ottoman Empire was faced with the need to instigate social and legal reforms in order to reorganize a corrupt judicial system with no unified legal code and laws applicable to various members of the society depending on their status, gender or religion. In 1839 Sultan Abdûlmecid declared a series of reforms. Although the reforms were not especially directed at changing the status of women, Ottoman women were affected by the economic, social, political, judicial and ideological transformation and started to acquire a better social and legal position in society. The status and role of women attracted the attention of modernization movements at the end of the last century and early twentieth century. The liberation of women was considered a very important step in modernizing the state during the period between the reforms and the second constitutional period in 1908. The press made noticeable contributions to the discussions of the women’s movement during the same period. This study examines women’s magazines, journals and newspapers during this period and evaluates the demands of the Ottoman women made.
School Location:USA - Ohio
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:middle eastern gender women s studies islam
Date of Publication:01/01/2003