The Turkish War of Independence was not only a pivotal moment in Turkish and its region’s history, but also a period marked by extraordinary bravery and self-sacrifice of hundreds of Turkish woman, man, and children. I want to tell the incredible stories of seven female heroes who played crucial roles in the fight for Turkey’s freedom against the occupying forces of the first world war! Let’s learn and remember the lives of these seven extraordinary women who were doctors, soldiers, spies, and leaders and who defied expectations and played vital roles in securing Turkey’s independence.
Kara Fatma
Fatma Seher Erden was born in Erzurum in 1888. After marrying Ahmet Bey, an officer, she participated in the Balkan War and shared her military life with her husband. In the First World War, she fought on the Caucasus Front with nine to ten women from her family. When her husband, Major Ahmet Bey, was martyred in Sarıkamış, she returned to Erzurum, her hometown.
As a result of the Greek occupation of Izmir, Kara Fatma moved to Izmir and fought in the First and Second İnönü War, Sakarya Battle and Dumlupınar Battle with more than 300 troops.
Although she was captured in the first days of the Great Offensive, she escaped and took charge of her army again and played a major role in the liberation of Bursa from Greek occupation.
After the war, Fatma Seher Hanım completed her military service, which she started with the rank of sergeant, with the rank of first lieutenant and retired.
Şerife Bacı
During the war, Şerife Bacı learned that there was a shortage of ammunition in Ankara and wanted to work voluntarily for this. The fact that she was still young in age and the determined struggle of the old women and men around her impressed her a lot.
Martyr Şerife Bacı is the heroic Turkish woman who carried ammunition from İnebolu to Kastamonu in the War of Independence. In December 1921, when harsh winter conditions prevailed, Şerife Bacı came to the front of the barracks with her child on her back and her cart in front of her, and she was martyred by freezing in order to protect the bullets and her child.
Tayyar Rahmiye Hanım
His main task was reconnaissance and arson behind the front lines. By blowing up the railroad tunnel near Osmaniye, he greatly disrupted the enemy’s ammunition supply. He received the nickname “Tayyar”, meaning “flying”, when he got out of his trench and brought the soldiers who were martyred on the enemy line to their own regions on his back.
When the soldiers hesitated during the attack on the French headquarters in Osmaniye, she encouraged her friends to attack by saying, “I can stand up even though I am a woman, but are you not ashamed to crawl on the ground as men?”. In the same battle, she was martyred when she rushed forward to protect two of her friends who were in the line of fire.
Çete Emir Ayşe
She is also known as Efe Ayşe. Her father’s name was Mustafa and she was illiterate and a martyr’s wife. This 23-year-old housewife, known in her village as Emir Ayşe, took up arms and faced the enemy under very difficult conditions. When Emir Ayşe set out, other women and girls followed her, and in this way she became a pioneer for other heroines of the region.
She cashed in her diamond earrings, the only memento of her husband who died in Çanakkale, and bought herself a rifle. Then she went up the mountain and joined Yörük Ali Efe and fought against the Greeks until September 7, the liberation of Aydın.
Efe Ayşe said: “In some women there is a wrestler; in some men, because of their cowardice, a woman is hidden. Since this is our homeland, we must be part of this homeland and fight for it.”
Halide Edip Adıvar
Halide Edip made fiery speeches at the Fatih, Kadıköy and Sultanahmet rallies organized after the occupation of İzmir on May 15, 1919. Among these rallies, the most important one for the National Struggle and Halide Edip was the Sultanahmet Rally. Halide Edip became almost legendary with her speech at the Sultanahmet Rally. On May 16, 1919, Mustafa Kemal, who left for Anatolia, sent a letter to some intellectuals after publishing the Amasya Declaration, stating that Istanbul should be subordinated to Ankara and explaining what should be done. One of the people Mustafa Kemal wrote to was Halide Edip.
Gördesli Makbule
Ms. Makbule from Gördes was born in 1902 in Gördes, Manisa. Her large family had a small farm and agricultural lands. At an early age, she learned to ride a horse and use a gun. At the age of 12, she lost her father, Abdullah Efendi. Growing up under the protection of her older brothers, Ms. Makbule married Halil Efe of Ustrumcalı in September 1920. Later, she and her husband took to the mountains as raiders.
When the Greek army invaded Izmir on May 15, 1919, and advanced towards Western Anatolia, she and her husband participated in gang wars under the command of the Kuvayi Milliye. During this period, she showed great merits and inflicted heavy losses on the Greek forces.
Satı Kadın
When she was a young woman, upon the death of her father, she had to fight with Kara Yusuf, one of the village bullies, for the inheritance left by her father. When Satı Kadın won this struggle, she became known as Satı Ağa. During the War of Independence, she fought to raise materials for the army. After the Alphabet Revolution, she learned to read and write in the National Schools.
Turkish women gained the right to vote and be elected with the Republic, and this is the result of Atatürk’s great struggle to provide Turkish women with the necessary place and value in every field. As a result of the political rights obtained, Turkish women participated in the elections in 1935 for the first time. She was one of the first female deputies of the Republic of Turkey.
