Neriman Cahit (born 1937) is a
Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...
poet and author. She is known as a leading figure of Turkish Cypriot poetry and a vocal advocate of women's rights.
[Turan, Metin]
Çağdaş Kıbrıs Türk Şiirinde Eğilimler/ Yönelimler
(Çukurova University) Retrieved on 26 January 2015.
Biography
Neriman Cahit was born in
Krini (known as ''Kırnı'' in
Turkish at the time) in 1937. The eldest of three sisters, she went to her village's primary school for three years. Her parents, concerned for the education of their daughter, transferred her to the Atatürk Primary School in
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
, where she resided for the rest of her life. She started penning her thoughts at the 5th year of primary school.
She went to the Victoria Girls' High School, where she studied classics with the help of her philosophy teacher and became increasingly vocal with her writing. She then went on to study at the Teachers' College, and was forced to transfer to the newly formed Teachers' College of Turkish Cypriots in 1957 due to the nascent intercommunal strife.
[ Her early poetry in this period was more focused on natural and romantic themes; it shifted towards social issues with time. She started writing with a free style, not incorporating ]rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
schemes into her poetry.
After her graduation, she was sent to the village of Klavdia
Klavdia ( el, Κλαυδιά; tr, Klavya or ) is a village in the Larnaca District of Cyprus, located west of Larnaca. Prior to 1974, the village was inhabited solely by Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Tü ...
for her first duty. She continued teaching for 33 years and often in remote villages, claiming that it was "as if she was exiled because of her opposition". During her career, she was a vocal figure in the Turkish Cypriot Teachers' Union (KTÖS) and defended women's rights, free press and labor unions.[
She published her first works in the 1960s under a male pseudonym due to restrictions imposed on her by her family. Some trials were filed against this pseudonym at the time. Observing the state of Turkish Cypriot women in the villages that she worked in, she reflected the conditions they suffered from.][ Throughout her career as a teacher, her articles, poems, researches and interviews were published in Turkish Cypriot newspapers. She is considered one of the leading advocates of women's rights.]
Her first book, ''K.T.Ö.S. Mücadele Tarihi'' ("History of KTÖS Struggle") was published in 1987, followed by her first poetry book, ''Sıkıntıya Vurulan Düğüm'' in 1988. Her first book entirely focused on women, ''Konu: Kadın'' ("Subject: Woman") was published in 1989.[ Since then, she has released a number of books consisting of her poetry, interviews, research and articles. Some of the topics explored in her work are womanhood in Cyprus, the city of Nicosia and the perception of sexuality in the Turkish Cypriot society. She has expressed her passion for Nicosia, the deep entrenchment of the city in her soul and the pain that the city's division gives to her.][
She has been the recipient of at least 15 awards in literature, including awards from the Turkish magazine '']Nokta
''Nokta'' ("Point" in Turkish) was a leading Turkish weekly political news magazine. Founded in 1983, it was closed down by its owner in 2007 under military pressure after revealing several coup plots. Revived in 2015, it was closed again in th ...
'', from Humanist International
The Humanist International (also known as the International Humanist Party) is a consortium of political parties adhering to universal humanism (also known as Siloism, after the nickname of the movement's founder), founded in 1989 by over 40 nat ...
[ and from the ]International Organization of Turkic Culture
The International Organization of Turkic Culture tr, Uluslararası Türk Kültürü Teşkilatı or TURKSOY is an international cultural organization of countries with Turkic populations, speaking languages belonging to the Turkic language fami ...
. She is the founder of the Women's Research Center[ and currently writes periodicals in the Turkish Cypriot daily newspaper ]Yeni Düzen
''Yeni Düzen'' or ''Yenidüzen'' is a daily newspaper published in Northern Cyprus. Its current editor in chief is Cenk Mutluyakalı. As of July 2014, it consisted of 24 pages and its daily circulation was 4700.
The newspaper belongs to the Rep ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahit, Neriman
1937 births
Living people
Turkish Cypriot poets
Turkish Cypriot writers
People from Kyrenia District