Women of the Second Consitutional period: İzmir example

In pre-Islamic Turkish society, women could take part in political, military and social life was equal to them without being subjected to class distinction with them. The migration of Turks to different geographies caused religious, social and cultural changes and the status of women in society was affected by these changes. Islam opposed the view of woman as a source of shame and reducing her value in the age of ignorance; but over time, the enforcements imposed by societies under changing conditions have brought women a different perspective under the title of Islam. Despite Islam, women in the Ottoman Empire had not completely withdrawn from social life. In the villages, women's labor was more than that of men, as it was both in the field and in the household. While Muslim women stayed in the more restricted areas in the cities, women of Muslim noble families could receive their education with the support of their families and benefit from more opportunities. Female members of non-Muslim Ottoman minorities and foreign nationals had a different position than Muslim women in social life. The trend of sending students to Eyrope, which started in the reign of Mahmut the second, proved fruitful in a short time in terms of modernization. For the sake of the French and Industrial Revolution in Europe, women became more active, claimed their rights and won them both in business and social life. While the students who came back to their homeland were concerned about the poor state of the empire, they thought that the education of women would have an important effect on the development of society and they tried to reflect this idea in novels, newspaper and magazines throughout Tanzimat Period. Women are the most important element of the family. The fact that she had to care for the child after giving birth, to be accepted as the first teacher of the child, gave rise to the judgment that the woman should be wise, which is quite true. If the woman unconsciously raises her child, there will be no love and respect or sense of belonging to the society. The element that keeps the state alive goes through the education of the individual. This is why conscious people have assigned roles to women. In the period we examine, especially in the direction of the French Revolution that made its mark on the century, we encounter with the movement of nationalism affecting all multinational states such as the Ottoman Empire and the games of the colonialist order on the Ottoman Empire which would enable the industrialist states to maintain their capitalist regimes. The efforts of the patriotic groups struggling to prevent the disintegration of the state have been also carried out in social, cultural and economic fields which have not limited the modernization to the political field. In this respect, the concept of women, which is equivalent to the development of society, has come into question more than ever. While Anatolia is the subject of investigation in itself, it is very difficult to examine the culture of the Ottoman Empire as a whole. The last quarter of the nineteenth century, when the modernization showed its effect rapidly, was the period in which the Ottoman cultural and social life was revived. In this direction, while trying to enlighten the public with newspapers, magazines, leaflets, new entertainment types that revived social life in line with Europeanization entered the Ottoman society. One of the main reasons affecting this situation is the process of change that began with the opening of the Ottoman Empire to the west, while another reason was that they turned to states which were open to exploitation and could not protect themselves in order to find raw materials for the developing industry of Europe. Ottoman ports were occupied economically by European merchants and industrialists. As a result of the European economic groups settling here, their own culture was brought to these lands and the Ottoman population in the provinces became acquainted with the European groups. This situation has caused controversy among the groups living in the Ottoman state. One of the most important topics of the discussions was the status of women in society. Izmir, which was the shining city after Istanbul in this century, was reflected in the city's architectural structure, education, clothing style, economy and social life. In the modernization process, which started with the role model of Istanbul, Izmir is an important place. In this study, the Izmir version of the struggle for righteousness of women who benefited from the initiation of freedom movements during the Constitutional Monarchy period was examined. Because of the high number of non-Muslims, Izmir's society lags behind in many respects compared to Istanbul. Although we have limited resources on women in Izmir, we see that they marked a significant development. In this study, in order to produce an original text, Izmir newspapers, books, articles and theses were used. Keywords: Women, Constitutional Monarchy, Literature, Politics, Theater, Economy, Press, Turkish Bath, İzmir, Hijab, Dress.