Turkish Women Profile That Ataturk Targeted: Example of Konya Speech

The Turkish woman has been deemed valuable by their husbands since the dawn of history. In Turkish societies, mothers had rights, as did the fathers. Marriage is based on mutual respect and monogamy. Adultery was never accepted and recognized. After the adoption of Islam, a new lifestyle has been embraced within the framework of this new religious understanding. Nonetheless, women have always been respected by the men. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who wanted to give new rights to the Turkish women in the direction of the developments in the world, emphasized the place of the woman in the society and civilization with his dictum: “Everything we see on the face of the world is the work of the women”. He evaluated women's rights as a main component of westernization and modernization, and always trusted the Turkish woman. No leader has been as sensitive as Ataturk on women’s rights and did not fight as much as he did. In this article, in the speech given by Atatürk in Konya, the reforms he has made have been emphasized within the framework of the message he gave to the Turkish women. In addition, the text and translation of Konya trip and its presentation are presented in the appendix