The idea of having an "Inspirational Women" weblog came out of research for the Female Poets of the First World War Exhibition when I found details about the Canadian artist Mary Riter Hamilton. Since then, I have found a great deal more information which I hope to share with you soon.
I salute all the women who lived through the Great War, no matter who or where they were or what they did, for it was a very difficult time for the world.
Contrary to popular opinion, there were many women who fought during the First World War (and before). Here is one of them from Turkey:
Second Lieutenant Fatma Kara (Fatma Seher Erden) (1888- 1955)
Fatma was married to an officer called Derviş Bey and fought alongside him in The Balkan War. She recruited a group of nine other women and they fought on the front in the Caucasus during the First World War.
Following her husband's death, Fatma joined the National Forces of Mustafa Kemal Pasha and fought against Armenians in the east. She formed a fighting group which fought against the Greeks at Bursa and Iznik. Her son and doughtier ware also members of her group of fighters.
They fought in the battles of the River Sakarya and the Great Attack against the Greeks on 26th August 1922. She was taken prisoner by the Greeks near Afyon Karahissar but managed to escape. After the War, she was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant.
There is to be a Conference on the Caucasus in WW1. For details, please see
http://www.panorama.am/en/society/2013/08/23/conference-yerevan/
