Our faculty member Dr. Büşra Sıdıka Kaya will make a presentation titled “Intellectual Women of Mamluk Cairo” on Tuesday, December 10 at 13.00 at the Media and Events Center Teoman Duralı Conference Hall.
About the event: This study aims to shed light on the relationship between women and knowledge in 15th-century Cairo, their opportunities for accessing knowledge, and their contributions to its production. The primary source is Al-Daw’ al-Lāmi‘ li-Ahl al-Qarn al-Tāsi‘ by Shams al-Dīn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Sakhāwī (d. 1497), which documents the biographies of the political and social elites of the 15th-century Islamic world. Additional works of biographical literature (ṭabaqāt) from the same period have also been utilized. These records from the 15th century are of significant importance as they reveal the position of women in late medieval Islamic society, their connection to scholarly pursuits, their acceptance within intellectual activities, and their relationships with other scholars.
The study demonstrates that the Sunni scholars' approach played a significant role in fostering scientific activities among women in Cairo. Girls were encouraged from a young age to participate in the transmission of Islamic knowledge and were provided opportunities to join the study circles of prominent scholars of the period. By learning from these leading scholars, many young women became distinguished in the field of hadith due to their possession of ʿālī isnād (chains of transmission with fewer narrators). This elevated their status in hadith gatherings, which were among the most prominent intellectual activities of the time, allowing them to gain a certain degree of recognition within these scholarly environments. Furthermore, it is observed that women in 15th-century Cairo made notable advancements in other branches of knowledge as well.
