Women in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908

Abstract This article provides the first study of Ottoman women’s involvement in the 1908 Revolution by recovering the identities and activities of some of the female revolutionaries and discussing the reasons for and the significance of their participation in a political conspiracy to change the regime. It reveals how women from different ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds contributed to the constitutional movement by serving as messengers and spies, recruiting new members, producing and spreading propaganda, providing financial assistance, participating in protests and demonstrations, and even taking part in an assassination attempt against the sultan. This article argues that, assuming similar roles and responsibilities to their male peers, these women not only helped establish a constitutional regime but also pushed the political and social boundaries that limited their freedoms. Once the constitutional movement was successful, women openly staked a claim for a place in the new social order through their increased public presence and visibility by defying veiling and gender segregation. Ottoman women’s involvement in the constitutional process was revolutionary, as it had the potential to make the public sphere freer, more just, and more egalitarian, thus delivering on the promise of “liberty, equality, and justice.”