The politics of everyday life in Ottoman women's magazine: The research of the letters of the journal for ladies

The 19th century was the century of change for Ottoman women. In this process, women gathered around the magazines and discussed their rights, demands and problems on the public platform through the magazines. Magazines were places where women raised their voices and make their voices resonate in the public sphere. One of these magazines is Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete. Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete started its publication life in 1895 as one of the first magazines in which the editorial team consisted of women and the rights and demands of women were expressed, and continued its publication life for 13 years. The magazine in question took on a structure that affects and was affected by the lives of women and is intertwined with their daily lives. The fact that the magazine travels within the borders of the daily has revealed how the ordinary life of women is actually a political field. One of the main indicators of this situation is the letters sent to the journal. Letters have taken their place as articles in which women expressed themselves with their own words and discussed the situation they are in. Thus, women carried their experiences, rights and demands the public sphere. The subjects they expressed in their letters were the debate about the ideal identity they sought for themselves in the changing social structure, the right to education and work, and their family life. The aforementioned issues were central to he concerns of of women's daily lives. In this context, letters were means of transferring the rights and demands of women to the public sphere by turning the mundaneness of daily life into a political element. Through the letters mentioned in the thesis, analyzes the politics of women's daily life and integrates women's experiences a part of scientific studies.