Halide Edib ADIVAR

Halide Edib Adıvar (1884-1964) was a Turkish writer, politician, academic and teacher, known for her significant contributions to Turkish literature and her participation in the country's early political history. She is also known as Halide Corporal. She played an important role in the cultural and political transformations that shaped modern Turkey.

Who is Halide Edib Adıvar?

She was born in 1884 in Istanbul. When she was seven years old, she was expelled from Üsküdar American Girls' College, which she started by raising her age, after one year due to a student's denunciation. She completed her primary education by taking private lessons at home. In 1897, Jacob Abbott's "Ana", which she translated while learning English, was published. In 1899, he was awarded the Order of Compassion by Abdülhamit II for this achievement. Afterwards, she returned to the upper class of the college and started to learn English and French. Halide Edib became the first Muslim woman to receive a bachelor's degree from Üsküdar American College for Girls. He translated the biographies of famous British mathematicians, several Sherlock Holmes stories and many other works into Turkish.

War of Independence and Istanbul Rallies

On May 15, 1919, upon the occupation of Izmir by the Greeks, protest rallies began to be organized one after another in Istanbul. Halide Edib, who was a good speaker, left a deep mark in the memories with her speech at the Fatih rally, the first open-air rally organized by the Asri Women's Union on May 19, 1919, in which women speakers also took part. On May 20, she attended the Üsküdar rally and on May 22, the Kadıköy rally. This was followed by the Sultanahmet rally, in which Halide Edib played a leading role. "Nations are our friends, governments are our enemies," she said in her speech without any preparation or written text, which became an aphorism.

The British occupied Istanbul on March 16, 1920. Halide Edib and her husband Dr. Adnan were among the first people to be sentenced to death. On May 24, the decision was approved by the Sultan and the first six people sentenced to death were Mustafa Kemal, Kara Vasıf, Ali Fuat Pasha, Ahmet Rüstem, Dr. Adnan and Halide Edib. Before they were sentenced to death, Halide Edib left Istanbul with her husband and joined the National Struggle in Ankara. Although she was a civilian who served alongside Mustafa Kemal at the front during the War of Independence, she received a rank and was considered a war hero. During the war years, he took part in the establishment of the Anadolu Agency and worked as a journalist.

Influence and Legacy

With 21 novels, 4 story books, 2 theater works and various reviews published after the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, he became one of the most prolific writers of Turkish literature in the Constitutional and Republican periods. Her best known work is her novel Sinekli Bakkal. In her works, she paid particular attention to women's education and social position, and advocated for women's rights in her writings. Many of her works were adapted into movies and television series.

adapted. From 1926 onwards, she lived abroad for 14 years and became one of the most recognized Turkish writers of the period with her lectures and works written in English.

Halide Edib was a professor of literature at Istanbul University, an academic who held the Chair of English Philology, and a politician who served as an MP in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, to which she was elected in 1950. Throughout her career, she advocated for women's rights and emphasized the importance of education as a tool for social change. Halide Edib Adıvar's work is highly respected in Turkish literature and her contributions to both literature and politics are still appreciated today. Halide Edib Adıvar passed away on January 9, 1964. Her legacy as a writer, educator and political figure lives on in modern Turkey, especially in the fields of literature, women's rights and national identity.