Halide Edib Adivar

Halide Edib Adıvar was a Turkish writer, scholar, and public figure dedicated to the rights of women and their emancipation. She attempted to analyze the rapid transition of Turkish society and to depict the deep-seated conflict the society faced through the clash between Eastern and Western culture. She was also a Pan-Turkist and several of her novels advocated for the Turanism movement. Halide Edib was born in Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire to an upper-class family. Her father was a secretary of the Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II. ² Halide Edib was educated at home by private tutors from whom she learned European and Ottoman literature, religion, philosophy, sociology, piano playing, English, French, and Arabic. She learned Greek from her neighbors and from briefly attending a Greek school in Constantinople. She attended the American College for Girls briefly in 1893. In 1897, she translated Mother by Jacob Abbott, for which the sultan awarded her the Order of Charity (Şefkat Nişanı). She attended the American College again from 1899 to 1901, when she graduated. Her father's house was a center of intellectual activity in Constantinople and even as a child Halide Edib participated in the intellectual life of the city. After graduating, she married the mathematician and astronomer Salih Zeki Bey, with whom she had two sons. She continued her intellectual activities, however, and in 1908 began writing articles on education and on the status of women for Tevfik Fikret's newspaper Tanin and the women's journal Demet. She published her first novel, Seviye Talip, in 1909. Because of her articles on education, the education ministry hired her to reform girls' schools in Constantinople. She worked with Nakiye Hanım on curriculum and pedagogy changes and also taught pedagogy, ethics, and history in various schools. She resigned over a disagreement with the ministry concerning mosque schools. She received a divorce from Salih Zeki in 1910. Her house became an intellectual salon, especially for those interested in new concepts of Turkishness. She became involved with the Turkish Hearths (Türk Ocağı) in 1911 and became the first female member in 1912. She was also a founder of the Elevation of Women (Taali-i Nisvan) organization. ² Halide Edib was a prominent figure in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908 and the subsequent political and social reforms. She supported the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and became close friends with its leaders, such as Talat Pasha and Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk). She was a vocal critic of the Ottoman Empire's involvement in World War I and the Armenian genocide. She also opposed the Treaty of Sèvres, which partitioned the Ottoman territories among the Allied powers. She joined the Turkish nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal and became a member of the executive committee of the Turkish Women's Union (Türk Kadınlar Birliği). She participated in the Turkish War of Independence as a soldier, a journalist, and a propagandist. She wrote the Turkish national anthem, İstiklâl Marşı, which was later replaced by another version. She also wrote several novels based on her experiences in the war, such as Ateşten Gömlek (The Shirt of Flame), Vurun Kahpeye (Strike the Whore), and Kalp Ağrısı (The Pain of the Heart). ² After the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, Halide Edib became a member of the Progressive Republican Party (Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası), which opposed Mustafa Kemal's authoritarian policies. She criticized his reforms on secularism, language, and education, and accused him of betraying the ideals of the revolution. She also denounced the suppression of the Kurdish rebellion in 1925. She was exiled from Turkey in 1926, along with her second husband, Adnan Adıvar, a prominent politician and scholar. They lived in various European countries and India until 1939, when they returned to Turkey after the death of Mustafa Kemal. During her exile, she wrote several novels and memoirs, such as The Turkish Ordeal, The Clown and His Daughter, and House with Wisteria. She also lectured at various universities and institutions, such as Columbia University, Sorbonne, and the School of Oriental and African Studies. ² Halide Edib continued her literary and political activities in Turkey until her death in 1964. She was elected as a member of the parliament in 1950 and 1954, representing the Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti). She also founded the Turkish Association for the Defense of Human Rights (Türkiye İnsan Hakları Derneği) in 1956. She wrote more novels, such as Sinekli Bakkal (The Clown and His Daughter), Tatarcık (The Little Ant), and Yolpalas Cinayeti (The Yolpalas Murder). She also wrote essays and articles on various topics, such as Turkish history, culture, literature, and politics. She was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 1958 and the Turkish State Prize for Literature in 1962. She died of cancer in Istanbul in 1964 and was buried at the Merkezefendi Cemetery. ²