Emine Semiye Önasya (28 March 1864 – 1944), mostly known as Emine Semiye and Emine Vahide, was a Turkish writer, activist, and early feminist.

Early life and education

Emine Semiye was born in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

on 28 March 1866. She was the second daughter of

Ahmed Cevdet Pasha Ahmed Cevdet Pasha or Jevdet Pasha in English (22 March 1822 – 25 May 1895) was an Ottoman scholar, intellectual, bureaucrat, administrator, and historian who was a prominent figure in the Tanzimat reforms of the Ottoman Empire. He was the h ...

and sister of Fatma Aliye. Her mother was Adviye Rabia Hanım. Emine Semiye studied psychology and sociology in France and Switzerland for seven years. She was one of the first Ottoman Muslim women educated in Europe.

Career

From 1882 Emine Semiye worked as a Turkish and literature teacher in Istanbul and in other provinces. She served as an inspector at girls’ schools and an assistant nurse at Şişli Etfal Hospital. Her writings on politics and education were published in various publications, including ''Mütalaa'' (in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

) and '' Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete'' (Ottoman Turkish: ''Newspaper for Women'') after the declaration of the

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

in 1908. She also wrote a math textbook entitled ''Hulasa-i Ilm-i Hesap'' in 1893. In ''Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete'' she used first several

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s, but later used her name and published various stories and travel writings. Her most-known novels are ''Sefalet'' (1908) (''Poverty'') and ''Gayya Kuyusu'' (''The Pit of Hell''). Emine Semiye, together with her older sister Fatma Aliye, was a significant figure for the Ottoman women movement. Emine Semiye was much more progressive and less orthodox than her sister. She established several charity organizations to help women. One of them was Şefkât-i Nisvân (Women’s Compassion) which was established in Thessalonica in 1898. Another charity founded by her was Hizmet-i Nisvân Cemiyeti (Service of Women Association). She became a member of the progressive

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

and later, of the Ottoman Democratic Party. In late 1890s Emine Semiye was the head of the Union and Progress Women’s Revolution Committee in Thessalonica. In 1920, she was named a member of the governing board of the

Turkish Journalists' Association The Turkish Journalists' Association ( tr, Türkiye Gazeteciler Cemiyeti, TGC) is an association for journalists in Turkey. It was founded on 10 June 1946, shortly after the abolition of the Turkish Press Union (Türk Basın Birliği), membership o ...

which had been called the Ottoman Press Association until that year.

Personal life and death

Emine Semiye lived for a long time in Paris. She married twice. Her first husband was Mustafa Bey. The second was Reşit Pasha. They divorced later. She had two sons; one from each husband. Their names were Hasan Riza, son of Mustafa Bey and Cevdet Lagaş, son to Reşit Pasha. She died in Istanbul in 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onasya, Emine Semiye 20th-century Turkish women politicians 20th-century Turkish women writers 1864 births 1944 deaths Novelists from the Ottoman Empire Writers from Istanbul Turkish feminist writers Turkish women novelists Committee of Union and Progress politicians