The Public Discourse on Marriage in Late Ottoman Turkey (1908–1918)

What is it about?

This paper explores the public discourse on marriage and its implications in post-revolutionary Ottoman Turkey (1908-1918) by emphasizing women’s voices. Through an examination of the Ottoman-Turkish press, this paper demonstrates how urban Muslim women used the issue of marriage to justify advancing women’s education, employment, and legal status, as well as normalizing pre-marital interactions between the sexes. It reveals that these women not only believed that the political revolution should be accompanied by a social revolution but also tried to achieve this goal by emphasizing the necessity of transforming the institution of marriage as well as the importance of egalitarian families that were based on mutual love, affection, and respect through their writings in the press.

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