Halime Çavuş (1898–1976) (literally "Sergeant Halime", later Halime Kocabıyık) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

woman, who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in a militia during the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

Life

She was born in Duruçay village of

Kastamonu Province Kastamonu Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province of Turkey, in the Black Sea Region, Turkey, Black Sea region in the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop Province, Sinop to the east, Bartın Province, Bartın, Karabük Province ...

in 1898. Although her father and mother were reluctant, she wanted to take part in the

(1919–1923) and so joined the nationalist forces in disguise as a man. She was known by her colleagues under the name ''Halim''. She served in the logistics of the army. The main supply road of the nationalists was between

İnebolu İnebolu is a town and district of the Kastamonu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is from Istanbul by road and north of Kastamonu. It is a typical Black Sea port town with many fine examples of traditional domestic architecture. It ...

port on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, the declared capital of the nationalists. Halime used to carry weapon and ammunition on the road on oxen carts. On 9 June 1921 the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

cruiser '' Georgios Averof'' and

Greek battleship Kilkis USS ''Mississippi'' (BB-23) was the lead ship of the originally built by the US Navy in 1904–1908. The class was built to a design smaller than other American battleships as the result of a limit on displacement imposed by Congress as part o ...

bombarded İnebolu and Halime was badly wounded in the leg. Due to permanent disability, she had to abandon her activity. At the end of the war, she was invited to Ankara to meet

Mustafa Kemal Pasha Mustafa () is one of the names of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic language, Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in t ...

(later Atatürk), the founder of

Turkish Republic Turkish Republic may refer to: * Turkey, archaically the "Turkish Republic" * Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the ...

, and his wife

Latife Latife is a Turkish feminine given name derived from the name Latifa. Notable people with the name include: * Latife Tekin (born 1957), Turkish writer * Latife Uşaki Latife Uşaklıgil (born Fatıma-tüz Zehra Latife Uşakîzâde; with the ...

. She was promoted to the rank of a sergeant and was decorated with the Medal of Independence. She was also put on a special retirement salary. After the enactment of the

Surname Law The Surname Law () of the Republic of Turkey is a law adopted on 21 June 1934, requiring all citizens of Turkey to adopt the use of fixed, hereditary surnames. Prior to 1934, Turkish families in the major urban centres had names by which they were ...

in 1934, she took the family name "Kocabıyık". She adopted her brother's son Sadık. Halime Kocabıyık died on 20 February 1976.

Legacy

There are two schools named after Halime Çavuş; ''Söğütu kindergarten'' in

Sakarya Province Sakarya () is a province and metropolitan municipality in Turkey, located on the coast of the Black Sea. Its area is , and its population is 1,080,080 (2022). The Sakarya River creates a webbing of estuaries in the province, which is in the Ma ...

and ''Primary school for the deaf'' in

Kastamonu Kastamonu, formerly Kastamone/Castamone () and Kastamon/Castamon (), is a city in northern Turkey. It is the seat of Kastamonu Province and Kastamonu District.

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References

People from Duruçay, Kastamonu 1898 births 1976 deaths Women in the Turkish War of Independence Recipients of the Medal of Independence (Turkey)