TURKISH WOMEN.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19848, 17 January 1920, Page 13

TURKISH WOMEN.

THE VEIL DISCARDED. CREAKING DOWN BARRIERS •CSy T7ILLTAM T. ELLIS in " Now York Herald.’') CONSTANTINOPLE.—One clear conjlructivo achievement the war has nccomplished in the Near East —it has emancipated woman. The far-reaching significance of the changes which the last five years have brought to the sphere and estate of woman will loom larger as time passes- It is one of the major consequences of the war. Turkish woman have 'lifted their veils. That sensational fact has already Ik? on reported. There are more unveiled women to fco seen on the streets of Constantinople than veiled. With the veil, of course, there disappears automatically the harem and its seclusion. This is a staggering innovation. All the social life of the Orient is constructed about the Moslem attitude towards women. It was against the law even for a man to build a house > with a window overlooking his neighbour's harem. That no man outside of her own family should look upon a , woman’s face was fundamental to ail the customs of the Near East. By war's shock, all harriers are now clown- The veil is no longer obligatory nor customary. Since one may see a woman’s face on the street, there is no reason why she should not he seen by her husband’s friends in her own home. This means an alteration of the immemorial conception of social life in the East. *' WOMEN LEAVE SECLUSION. During the hard pressed days of the iirnr, the Turkish women even went Into business, working in stores and in offices. I shall not forget the shock it was to me, months ago, on my first clay in Constantinople, since tho war, to see a young Turkish woman, unveiled, sitting behind a meagre stand of sweets on tho street corner. Poverty was the first factor that drove tho Turkish women out of their ancient seclusion. Nobody contends that this epochal change has been wholly beneficial. Far from it. The Turkish woman has hith- ’ erto been restrained by tho precautions ■ of the veil, tho harem and by social limitations. These removed, she was found in some cases to lack tho native inhibitions which enable her Western sister to enjoy such wide liberty. Life in offices and other public or semipublic places, especially in the presence of tho German army* worked havoc ; with the characters of many unveiled young women. Already, a wholesome reaction is reported. There are trying times for all peoples out here. Even the most frivolous have to do some serious thinking. As always, the women are among the first to accept responsibility. I What occidental women secured) by the alow processes of time and agita'tion has come to the oriental women ' almost unsought and overnight. They 'are taking a place in public affairs. ■ National issues have supplanted Pari', fashions as. a topic of conversation. In- ’ stead of lolling in luxurious harems, leafing confectionery, dallying with I I heir toilets and repeating scandal, these women are now organising committees and movements and conduct, ing propaganda, 'like veteran campaignors* . "RISE OF A’ FEMININE MOVEMENT- )■ Patriotism appeals to the deepest in womanhood. Behind recent nationalist movements in the Near East I have found the women active and keen and resourceful. In Egypt the rise of a feminine movement was one of the outstanding phenomena of the insurrection. - The women even led public demonstrations and made speeches. When one woman spoke in a theatre from behind a screen there was a general protest that she was giving too great need to conservatism. From palace to Bedouin tent the Egyptian women have entered into the activities m behalf of independence. 1 When I was in Beirut I was asked to meet a> committee of Syrian ladies, \ that I might hear from them how resolute tho people of Syria are for independence under an American mandate. Imagine it! Moslem ladies of high degree receiving a foreign man in order to discuss politics with him 1 This old world is surely turning in more waya ;than on its axis and in its orbit. Among the Armenians one finds that the stability, the foresight, the industry and the recognition of realities is with the women rather than with tho .men. ...„w |f- A FAMOUS 'AUTHORESS. Scarcely any Turkish.man is as well ' known as tho famous authoress, publicist and educator, Halideh HannumEducated thoroughly in French and English, as well ns in Turkish and Arabic, she is better equipped, scholastically, than most men- For years she has championed tho modem education of Moslem women, and has herself maintained a school for girls. _ She has written novels in both Turkish and French, stories r-iiher highly seasoned for with Victorian tastesHer writings in times of national crisw have been strong, and rather inflammatory- She was ardently pro-Teuton . and pro-Young Turk during the war. \ Ten years ago, when visiting President Patrick, of tho Constantinople College for Women, I had tho rather sensational experience of meeting a ' Turkish lady of high degree unveiled. ,It was Halideh Hannum. The interview, which was in English, had to bo kept secret, of course; but even then her plea was all for her unhappy country. Now, in tho light of open day, unveiled, and walking through tho streets of Constantinople, Halideh Hannum has called upon mo to present the case of her country from the standpoint of a woman. 1 The women axe both aroused and organised. Their aim is to save tho Turkish people, tho plain families who are not to be charged with the political blunders of their rulers, from exploitation and spoliation a the hands of tho (Powers. She hares mercilessly tho offendings of tho Turkish politicians, and of tho European nations. Tho refrain of all her talk is that tho people should |be saved from Europe—and tho only way to save them is by American aidTurkey's only hope is in the Wilson principles. 'lndeed, she is the founder of the Turkish Wilsonian League, which seeks a settlement of the Near Eastern problem on the lines of tho American war aims, ■AMERICAN MANDATE POPULAR. ' When it is pointed out to her that America desires no mandate, Halideh Hannum has an apt quotation from our own history or principles to prove why wo should take up the burden, whether wo like it or not. Taxed with the fact that in Turkey there is a party adhering to each of tho great Powers, and playing one off against another, she admits it freely, hut declares that the demand for America is popular, and not political. . v When told that if America, were i.n Turkey it would doubtless remove the government from Constantinople io Knnia, and hang half a, thousand or so murderers of Armenians, she unblinking! y assents. A gamer person I never interviewed. Her plea is entirely for tho people; that a new reign of justice and peace may come for them all, regardless of race or religion. In this, she doubtless represents the awakened womanhood* which waits most a chance to sit in safety by its own firesides, with, families in pe ice about them.