Role of women

OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Role of women
COL 155-512

Introduction:

Role of women

Women in the Ottoman have special position in the empire. In this paper, firstly I will
mention how women status in society, and how they treated in the Islamic courts. Secondly, I
will explain about the Harem of the Sultan, and how they treated in the empire. Thirdly, I will
be describing the Sultanate of women and give an example of one of the Hurrem Sultan
(Roxelane). Finally, I will describe the Ottoman women clothes.

Women status in Ottoman society:

Women in the Ottoman society have a different position. There were took a higher status
in the Ottoman society more than other Islamic society. Firstly, women the royal family,
especially the queen mothers, exercised considerable political clout (Lockard, n.d, p. 477).
Secondly, the princess of the empire was come from Harems. Finally, the upper class women
have many special controls. For example, they can own land, mange business and controlled
wealth throughout the empire.

Islamic and society courts:

In the Ottoman Empire, women took their objection to Islamic courts. The Islamic court
was gave Ottoman women more freedom than any other religion. It was protecting the
women right to inheritance and property. Which were women before the Islam came, they
cannot inherit anything. Also, women could not be forced into marriage, and were allowable
to divorce (The women, 2009). In Turkish society, older women had control over their
families, and they can become a head of house when his men die younger (Lockard, n.d, p.
477). In addition, some families punished or killed women illegal sexual activity because it
was illegal in the society court. Thus, there are a lot of rights those women in the Ottoman
society got in the Islamic and society courts.
The Harem of the Sultan.

Role of women

The Harems means, the sultan lives in a palace, in which some premises and rooms are
reserved for the wives of the sultan. This part of the palace is called the harem and is usually
up to of the whole palace (The Ottoman Harems, 1996).

Who lives in the harem?

There are rules and principles in the Ottoman Empire, which withdraw the direct relationship
of any kind between the sultan and his female subjects. Sultan can get women for his harem
from outside the empire. In addition, female slaves were the only qualified women to fill the
harem. The practice is that the old palace women buy female slaves and teach them to the
rules of the harem, how they should behave and so on (The Ottoman Harems, 1996) . This
cycle repeats again and again. When there are so many women less than one crown, it is of
importance that some rules be established in order to keep the peace in the harem between
women.

The Sultanate of women (16481656).

The sultanate of women in Ottoman Empire between 1648 and 1656 was a period in which
the political influence of the Imperial Harem was dominant, as the mothers of young sultans
exercised power on behalf of their sons (The sultanate of women, nd). The women have a
political influence in the empire. They had exercised all royal prerogatives, and they were
leaded armies into battle. Also, the Harems women can become a princess of sultan castle.
Hurrem Sultan (Roxelane).
One of the examples of the Harems women who had an influence over the empire was
Roxelane. She was a wife of Sultan Suleyman (the Magnificent). One of the most
outstanding examples of powerful women in the Ottoman Empire, Harems initiated the
period of the Sultanate of Women. She was like other members of the Harems from which

Role of women

she rose to power. She was originally a foreign girl. Roxelane becomes favorite women
for Suleyman. She influence over the Sultan. Roxelane was to bear Sleyman five
children. This was break with tradition. She became a legal wife of Sleyman the
Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire (Suleyman the Magnificent, 1996, para. 2) . When
she becomes his wife, she has strengthened position in the palace. This led to one of her
sons, Selim to become a roller of the empire after the death of Suleyman.

Ottoman women Dress:

The women dress in the Ottoman Empire was very unique. Most of women wear spinning
cotton cloth used both in trade and in their own homes for headscarves, bed linens, towels,
and clothes (The women, 2009). They were using clothing to identify themselves within their
society by class and religion because women were the ones stitching the majority of the
clothes.
Ottoman women clothes had a direct influence on the European fashions in the beginning
of 1700's (The women, 2009). The women clothes became look like the basic uniform of
loose pants, a loose shirt, and robes.
In addition, Lady Mary was described the Ottoman women clothes. She wrote many
letters describing the clothing and habits of Turkish women. She is the wife of the English
ambassador to Turkey, spent two years in Turkey in the early 1700's (The women, 2009,
para 4).

Conclusion:

To sum up the idea that I mention above, the Turkish women has a higher position on the
society, and the Islamic courts was giving them many rights in the society. The Harrems has a
strong influence over the empire and the sultan. In addition, the Ottoman women clothes have

Role of women

an influence by fashion of the day. As I think, the Ottoman women were treated in good ways
over the empire which no one of the society at that time gives the women these rights.

Bibliography
Lockard. (n.d). The Ottoman and Islamic Imperial Revival. In Lockard.
Ottoman Women and the Visual Arts. (2009). Retrieved 12 12, 2009, from THE
WOMEN : http://www.turkishculture.org/pages.php?
ChildID=201&ParentID=12&ID=56&ChildID1=510&miMore=1
Suleyman the Magnificent. (1996). Retrieved 12 7, 2009, from All about Turkey:
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/suleyman.htm
The Ottoman harem. (1996). Retrieved 12 7, 2009, from All about Turkey:
http://www.allaboutturkey.com/harem.htm
The sultanate of women. (n.d). Retrieved 12 6, 2009, from Channel 4:
http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/e-h/harem.html
The women. (2009). Retrieved 12 7, 2009, from Turkish Culture:
http://www.turkishculture.org/pages.php?
ChildID=201&ParentID=12&ID=56&ChildID1=510&miMore=1