Şefiqa Gaspıralı was one of the initiators of the Crimean Tatar women’s movement in the early twentieth century. A political and social activist and editor of the first Muslim women’s magazine, Alem-i Nisvan (Women’s World), she is deservedly mentioned alongside the leaders of the Crimean Tatar national movement of that time.

Şefiqa was born on October 14, 1886, into the family of Ismail and Zuhra Hasprinska. At the age of 15, she began actively participating with her brother Refat in the preparation of the Terciman newspaper, and in 1903, she wrote her first article, marking the beginning of her path in publishing.

In 1905, at the age of 20, Şefiqa founded the first specialized publication for Muslim women in the Muslim world, Alem-i Nisvan, published in Crimean Tatar as a supplement to Terciman. Şefiqa Gaspıralı was the editor of the magazine, while ownership rights belonged to Ismail Haspynskyi. The magazine featured stories of famous women, photographs, articles on ethics and morality, customs and religion, as well as poetry, prose, historical and travel essays, and topics such as early marriage, family law, women’s health, and child-rearing.

In 1917, Şefiqa Gaspıralı initiated the creation of the Crimean Tatar women’s movement, The Executive Committee of Crimean Muslim Women (Qadınlar Günü), advocating for the recognition of all rights for Muslim women and their inclusion in all spheres of social and professional activity. Between April and May 1917, Muslim women’s committees were established in Bakhchysarai, Yevpatoriia, Feodosiia, Kerch, and other cities and villages across Crimea.

In August 1917, the Congress of Delegates from Muslim Women’s Committees of Crimea was held in Simferopol, where they formed the Central Committee of Muslim Women. Ilkhamiie Tokhtar was elected chair of the committee, and Şefiqa Gaspıralı became the vice-chair. By decision of the National Government of the Crimean Tatar people, she was also appointed director of the Simferopol Women’s Pedagogical School (Dar-ul-muallimin).

The committee issued a call for Crimean Tatar women to remove their veils, which was signed by the Chief Mufti, Noman Çelebicihan. He also permitted joint worship for men and women in mosques, which was unprecedented in the Islamic world.

In October 1917, a congress of public and civic organizations was held in Simferopol, attended by 20 women. The congress announced a program allowing women to participate in elections alongside men, and it was decided to convene the First Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People.

In November 1917, elections to the first Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar people were held, electing 76 representatives, including four women, one of whom was Şefiqa Gaspıralı, representing Yevpatoriia district. She was also elected to the Qurultay presidium. This was the first example among Islamic peoples of the implementation of women’s voting rights.

Articles on equal rights for men and women, including political rights, were included in the Crimean Tatar Basic Laws, the constitution of the Crimean People’s Republic, proclaimed in December 1917.

However, in January 1918, the situation on the peninsula changed dramatically. After the Bolsheviks seized Simferopol, they banned the activities of the Crimean Tatar national self-government bodies. On January 14, 1918, the Bolsheviks detained Crimean Tatar leader Noman Çelebicihan.

To save her children, Şefiqa Gaspıralı left Crimea in the summer of 1919 and moved to Azerbaijan, where her husband, Nasib-bey Yusifbeyli, became the prime minister of Azerbaijan. After the country was occupied by the Bolsheviks in 1920, he was shot dead, and Gaspıralı and her children emigrated to Turkey.

In 1930, she founded and led the Union of Crimean Tatar Women in Istanbul, where she lived the rest of her life. In Türkiye, books are written about her, and her archive—articles, letters, and diaries—is preserved there. The memory of Şefiqa Gaspıralı also lives on in Azerbaijan. In Ukraine, her legacy and contributions are only just beginning to be studied. Şefiqa Gaspıralı left behind a vast legacy. As the daughter of her father and her people, she carried Ismail Haspynskyi’s ideas throughout her life, fighting for Crimea and women’s equality.