Ottoman Empire Dbq Essay

The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.

Women in Ottoman society had extremely restricted roles has shown in documents 2, 3, 4, and 1. Document 2 is a chapter of the Qur’an with regards to women’s rights, behavior, and treatment. The Qur’an states that certain action is to be taken in the discipline of disobedient women. The Qur’an claims that disobedient women are to be admonished by men first, then the men should refuse to share their beds with the disobedient woman, then, if they continue, the men should beat them lightly. The

The text is from the Qur’an, so there are no discussions to be had. Document 3 is an article from a feminist Turkish journal. The excerpt expresses the discontent the women of the Ottoman empire have with their role in society. The document reveals that a woman’s life is dominated by the father, uncle, husband or brother. The document also states that for a woman, it is impossible to set ideals for herself. The author is Aynur Demirderik, who is a feminist writer that studies the roles of women of the Ottoman Empire. Demiderik places the blame of women’s position in Ottoman society on traditions and customs that the men in a woman’s life “take advantage of” or abuse. Document 4 are the words of a female political activist in the Ottoman Empire. The excerpt conveys displeasure at the fact that Turkish women are equal in the eyes of the law but cannot hold office or vote. The women of Ottoman society feel disadvantaged, especially since the law declares that they are equal. We can assume that the author, having grown up a woman in the Ottoman