The Women of The Turkish Republic

The women of the Turkish War of Independence were more than witnesses to history — they were its makers. They carried rifles and ammunition, stitched uniforms, tended to the wounded, and gave speeches that stirred nations. They embodied strength, resilience, and unity in the pursuit of freedom.

Their legacy endures not only in military records, but in artistry, textiles, and cultural memory. Threads of Resistance honours these heroines, translating their spirit into sculptural adornments that remind us that women’s power is never singular, but collective and enduring.

Kara Fatma: The Warrior Commander

Fatma Seher Erden, known as Kara Fatma, was born in Erzurum in 1888. Widowed during the First World War, she travelled to Sivas in 1919 to ask Mustafa Kemal if she could join the resistance. His answer was yes.

She went on to form and lead her own militia unit of 43 women and 700 men, one of the most extraordinary feats of the war. Kara Fatma fought on the İzmit-Bursa and İzmir fronts, and her unit was among the first to enter İzmir during its liberation on 9 September 1922. Twice captured by Greek forces, she escaped and returned to battle, undeterred.

For her service, she achieved the rank of First Lieutenant and was awarded the Medal of Independence. Even in later years, she donated her pension to the Turkish Red Crescent, living modestly until her death in 1955. Kara Fatma remains a symbol of women’s leadership and unyielding courage.

Halide Edib Adıvar: The Voice of a Nation

While some women fought on the frontlines, others led with their voices. Halide Edib Adıvar, born in Istanbul in 1884, was a writer, educator, and activist who spoke multiple languages and moved with ease through intellectual circles.

Her pen and her speeches became weapons of resistance. She addressed mixed-gender audiences, urged unity, and helped found the Anadolu Ajansı (Anatolian News Agency) to broadcast the struggle to the world.

During the war, she was granted military ranks, served in headquarters, and documented atrocities she witnessed. After independence, she continued writing, teaching, and later served in the Turkish parliament. Halide Edib’s legacy shows that resistance is not only fought with rifles, but with words that shape nations.

Halime Çavuş: The Hidden Soldier

Another heroine, Halime Çavuş, disguised herself as a man in order to join the resistance. She carried ammunition, supplies, and fought in the trenches. Wounded in action, she was eventually honoured for her bravery — but her story is a reminder that women often had to hide their identity in order to fight openly. Her courage stands as testimony to the many unnamed women who risked everything for independence.

Artistry of Resistance

In times of peace, women gathered to weave, embroider, and crochet — crafts that preserved culture and forged bonds of community. In times of war, those same hands carried rifles, stitched uniforms, and sustained the fighters.

This duality — creation and protection — is central to their legacy. It proves that the feminine is not fragile, but resilient, adaptive, and enduring. Every piece of embroidery, every thread woven during those years carried more than decoration: it carried resistance.

The Legacy They Carried

The women of the Turkish War of Independence showed that leadership was not a male domain. Kara Fatma commanded hundreds into battle, proving women were not auxiliaries but leaders who could fight, strategize, and liberate cities.

Others, like Halide Edib, wielded visibility as power. Her speeches and writings made her both influential and vulnerable, yet she never stepped back from being the voice of a nation in crisis.

Their strength was never one-dimensional. They fought, healed, strategized, embroidered, and carried — shifting effortlessly between battlefield and hearth, rifle and needle. Each act was resistance.

And though many endured loss — husbands, children, homes, and safety — they carried on. Their legacy is not only in medals and memoirs but in the cultural memory of a nation that survived because its women refused to retreat.

A Call to History

Threads of Resistance is born from this history. Inspired by traditional Turkish needlework, the collection merges intricate textures with bold, armour-like silhouettes. It reminds us that women’s strength has always been both creative and defiant.

This is jewellery not for decoration, but for declaration — modern armour for women who continue to lead, resist, and create.