Prof. Dr. Akartürk Karahan, a faculty member in the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, appeared as a guest on the program “Morning in the Lands of Turan,” which airs weekdays on TRT Avaz. In the episode titled “A Pioneer of Enlightenment in the Turkic World: Şefika Gaspıralı,” which aired on Friday, July 3, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Prof. Dr. Karahan discussed the life, struggles, and legacy of Şefika Gaspıralı, one of the Turkic world’s most prominent female intellectuals. The program’s other guest was Gayana Yüksel, President of the Şefika Gaspıralı International Women’s Union.
The program highlighted the pioneering work of Şefika Gaspıralı—the daughter of İsmail Gaspıralı—in the fields of journalism, education, and women’s rights. The publication history of *Âlem-i Nisvân*, the first known women’s magazine in the Turkic and Islamic worlds; the Ceditçilik (Usûl-i Cedîd) movement; women’s organizations in Crimea; and Şefika Gaspıralı’s status as one of the first female deputies elected to the Crimean Kurultay were all discussed throughout the program, based on primary sources.
Prof. Dr. Karahan, who teaches courses on the language and literature of the Ceditçilik Period in the Turkic World and conducts research in this field, contributed to the topic from both a language-literature and cultural history perspective through his book on Ismail Gaspıralı’s *Âlem-i Sıbyân* magazine and the thesis on *Âlem-i Nisvân* completed under his supervision. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to and worked on the program.
