From Gallipoli (1915) to the War of Independence (1919-1922): Modernisation of Turkish Womanhood

Burcu Cevik-Compiegne

doi:10.5130/ccs.v6i3.4206

Abstract

In many countries, the services of nurses during the First World War have recently been given a commemorative space in an attempt to make the memory of the war more inclusive and less masculine. In contrast, Turkish nurses’ experience has so far been studied only from a nursing education and practice perspective. This article aims to shed light on this forgotten story by taking a gender and war studies perspective and reflect upon the much-celebrated memory of women fighters in Turkey.

Highlights

In Australia, when we think about the commemoration of women’s war service, the first group of women that comes to mind is nurses
While an urban elite seized the war as an opportunity to become active in public, professional and political life through charities, nursing and political activism, poorer urban women who already worked outside of the house before the outbreak of the war had more and more trouble looking after their families
The story of Turkish nurses was written out of history in the process, because the earlier examples of social progress did not fit the narrative that the liberation of women was achieved under Atatürk’s reforms in a complete rupture with the Ottoman social policy

Summary

Introduction

In Australia, when we think about the commemoration of women’s war service, the first group of women that comes to mind is nurses. The recognition of the service of the nurses came late, they took their place in the short list of those who deserve official recognition. The women who took what were traditionally considered as men’s jobs or those who had to face all sorts of difficulties such as rape, displacement and privations due to the war do not seem to fit in any narrative of men going to the front to accomplish heroic deeds and women following them as their carers or waiting patiently at home. In the 20th century women started being introduced to the profession in order to provide care for female patients. After the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), the shortage of medical staff and the increasing contact with

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