This essay will examine Ataturk’s secular policy reforms .To further understand the social changes that took place during Ataturk’s reign concerning women and education. The main aim of Ataturk’s government was to put Turkey on par with the Western world by introducing a modern ideology. His ideology known as ‘kemalism” (Zurcher 1 ) was distributed through the six points or ‘six arrows of kemalism’ these arrows or pillars included: republicanism, nationalism, populism, secularism, statism and finally evolutionism (Finkel 10). Secularism might have been the most important reform in the six arrows of Kemalism as this involved modernizing the whole nation. Ataturk went to great lengths to introduce western ideas especially the social and education …show more content…
In 1935, Ataturk’s government created a systematic way of dealing with illiteracy in theses areas, which held the majority of the Turkish population. First of all, the reformers took young villagers who had already learnt to read and write in the army, to join a six-month course to learn how to teach others. After this period they were sent back to their respective villages as ‘editmenler’ or educators (Tarmund 42). Another method …show more content…
Ataturk supported a woman’s right to decide on this. So much so, that he made sure his wife Latife Uşakizâde was a role model for the women ( Tarmund 17)of his nation, as she would be seen without her veil frequently. This would give women some confidence to have freedom of expression and some choice in wearing the veil. Though one can argue, that there might have been women who did not want to stop wearing the veil but Ataturk to further modernize the nation by used “women’s freedom” as a poster for his secular campaign. The right to vote was given to women in 1927 , women in Turkey were also allowed to be elected for parliament and in 1934 about 18 female members joined the Turkish National Assembly (Zurchic 250). This was quite incredible considering the fact that in 1935 only a few European countries had given women the
The Young Turks, a group of young military officers who wanted to keep their country’s decline from continuing, wanted to improve general conditions for certain peoples in the Ottoman empire. Not only was anyone who was not Muslim treated as second class citizens, they were also required by law to pay more for their taxes than a muslim civilian. Realizing this, in the 1890s and early 1900s, an organization called The Young Turks arose, pressing for political reform calling for the right to vote, a constitutional government and and an end to discriminatory practices such as the aforementioned raised taxes. Eventually, The Young Turks staged a coup successfully in an attempt to change the rule to a constitutional monarchy . This, however, had some unforeseen consequences.
The policies of United States and the reactions of Turkey’s against that policies will take part in this paper.
...itly the Christian Orthodox and Jews, which were the largest minority groups from Turkey. In addition, according to nationalist elites, these minorities were assimilable thus, were not capable of becoming part of the Turkish nation. Also, they stated that, the Non-Muslim minorities, mainly the Greek, were not composed of loyal citizens but possible traitors to the Turkish state (Guven 2006). Adnan Menderes believed that was national and extremely important responsibility of every Turk to implement the Turkification, in an attempt to establish an independent Turkish state. A corollary of this concept was the effort of assimilation of the Greek minority by force, exercising a policy of discrimination and restrictions against it. In this context, the language, culture and desires of Non-Muslim minorities had to be connected with the history and dignity of Turks.
...adical reform. Unlike Mahmud II, Isma’il’s gave considerable power to European powers rather than strengthening the Egypt’s central government. He hoped stronger ties with Europe would lead to modernization. The result, however, was large amounts of debt and a complete loss of political autonomy (Cleveland 97). The third reformer was Nasir al-Din Shah of Iran. Much of the power in Iran in the nineteenth century lied with the Shi’a leaders, the ulama, and local tribes. Unable to centralize power, Nasir al-Din’s reforms failed and he was forced to sell concessions to European powers out of desperation for money. All three reformers tried similar techniques to modernize their countries; yet, the success of these reforms was varied. The biggest factor in deciding whether reforms would be successful or not was a country’s ability to maintain a strong central government.
17Kili, Dr. Suna. ?Islam and Secularism in Contemporary Turkey.? Voice of Ataturk: Ataturk Society of America. Web. Dec. 10 2013.
World War I was a mainland war that took place on the Western Front. Allied powers consisted of the British Empire, France, Italy and Russia. The Central powers consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, and four months after the war started the neutral Ottoman Empire joined. At first Turkey was not a nation state but the remains of the Ottoman Empire (Hart 2). Its population consisted of ethnic Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Slavs, and more. The Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Abdul Hamid, had a struggling government with a weak political system and military defeat. In 1908, a split group of protesters and young army officers and civil servants were known as ‘Young Turks.’ The Young Turks had the common desire to improve the Ottoman Empire to turn around its declining government (Hart 3). It was hard for the government to become more modernized without surrendering control to different foreign powers. In fact, in 1911 Italy attacked Turkey and seized both the Tripolitania and Dodecanese Islands and it was obvious France desired to get Syria. Europe wanted almost every part of the empire that was left. With the Turkish being so weak, it led to the First Balkan War...
The emergence of the Young Turk movement, the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and its defeat in World War I, saw many changes in Asia Minor. The internal conflict with the Armenians during the war, and the flight of hundreds of thousands of Greeks, led to a dramatic change in the population of the emerging Republic of Turkey. The moving of the Turkish capital to Ankara in 1923 led to a shift from the previous capital, Constantinople.
In 1850 society the new republic altered the role of women by making the differences of men and women in society more noticeable, by giving them a higher status, and allowing them to demand more rights and think for freely.
Turkish-Syrian relations have almost always been soured and hostile in some fashion, dating back as early as the 1500’s. With a perpetual tit-for-tat policy and retaliation method that has been in effect between the two nations, it wasn’t until around 2003 or so in which Turkish relations to Syria had turned mostly friendly in response to the United States’ invasion of Iraq and Assad growing concerned over Syria being invaded as well. To gain more allies and help deter against this, Assad looked to Turkey for support, who was not only happy to better their ties with Syria, but was also in strong disagreement with the United States’ decision to invade Iraq as well. That is until the last five years in which the acting government in Syria has become increasingly more violent and hostile to it’s own people; essentially forcing the Turkish government to reject the growing friendly ties in the name of democracy. The geographic placement of Turkey in relation to the Middle-East and Europe, and particularly Syria, puts the country as a whole in a precarious situation from multiple powerful influences, such as NATO, the EU as well as the UN, and on the inverse, major Islamic figures and traditions held in the region. Because of this, Turkish history has been shaped and formed from the two major influences pulling on the country in very contrasting ways: The west, and the benefits of modernity and non-secularism in the state, and the East, and the fundamental religious beliefs of many who reside there who do not wish to break tradition or stray from their fundamental beliefs. Today is no different, although Turkey is increasingly leaning to the western state of mind and politics as a result of the shaky rela...
Today, nothing remains of the former social role of women. Nearly all professions are open to women. The numbers of women in the government and traditionally male-dominated fields have dramatically increased. More women than men earn bachelor’s degrees. Many women's groups still prevail and are major political forces. Although the two movements hoped to achieve different things and used different tactics, they still came together to gain women’s rights and have achieved more than anyone would have ever anticipated.
Sultan Mahmud II, and various other Europeanized Ottoman bureaucrats initiated what is known today as the largest reform movement in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Tanzimat changed life in the Ottoman Empire drastically, and completely revolutionized how the Ottomans lived. Previously, the empire was home to various different, nationalities, races, religions and cultures. During the Tanzimat, a major effort was made to unite these people, which is often referred to as the policy of Ottomanism. This resulted in the creation of a national anthem, and the establishment of a national flag. In the past, Islamic law was predominant, but was replaced by secular law, so no individual groups were left out. The Tanzimat’s main focus was to replace it’s old, outdated ways, with more of a westernized approach. The reforms varied greatly, but for the most part, they were all made to help modernize the empire.
In previous times, the equality between men and women were at dramatic differences. It is frequently believed that women’s suffrage was desired and fought for only in England and the United States during the 19th century. Though these movement changes in their reasons and tactics, the battle of female suffrage, along with other women’s rights concerns, cut through many national boundaries. Women’s rights and suffrage had changed drastically from the 1890 till the time of Nixon’s Administration. During these time markers women had been treated poorly, they felt as if they weren’t equal to the other citizens of the world, especially the men. There are countless activities involving women, but the most spoke about topics is, women’s rights, their suffrage, and the roles they played.
From the 18th century through the beginning of the 19th century, European influence was a significant force in various aspects of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Iran. Although the reforms, coined primarily by Gelvin as “defensive developmentalism,” were initially intended to centralize governmental control and strengthen the military, the actual effects were much broader. Based on varying pre-existing conditions and unique approaches to governorship, this process of modernization affected each region differently. This essay will explore the manners in which European influence shaped each territory, the primary areas of civilization, politics and culture that experienced reform, and the degree to which that influence was significant, or in the case of Iran, insignificant.
She explains the progression from standard politics to biopolitics in the Ottoman empire. As a rights based state, and seeing as it copied a portion of its regulations, those from the constitution, from napoleonic, french law. But with the tanzimat period, the era in which reforms were being made to all areas of politics in the Ottoman Empire, the state began to further incorporate gendered criminal codes. In 1926, the Ottoman Empire's successor, Turkey, started to take ideas from the Italians. This new development only increased the strength of the chokehold the state held
The Ottoman Empire had humble roots. Beginning as an Ottoman state, it progressively rose to power to become an empire. As a state, the Ottoman state started as a small state in current-day western Turkey. Based on Muslim beliefs and rule, the Ottoman State began to dissolve surrounding Muslim states, which were absorbed into the future empire. This move thereby ended all the other Turkish dynasties. The Ottoman Empire was marked as one of the largest, longest lasting empires. The Ottoman Empire lasted from the late 13th century to 1923. Throughout it’s time, the Ottoman Empire was remarked as highly successful and progressive. But like all empires, the Ottoman Empire had to make its end. The Ottoman Empire, like all dynasties, went through its rise, peak, and falling periods. This essay assesses each period in the Ottoman Empire's history.