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participation in business was hampered by the fact that it was not seen as respectable for women to come in contact with men outside of the family. The gender segregation of Muslim women provided a valuable business opportunity for both Jewish and
Christian women, who are known to have functioned as intermediaries and go-between for Muslim women, selling the handiwork of Muslim women on the market place and to (male) merchants. The French traveler
85:āJewish women who could go around with their faces uncovered are commonly found in the Turkish markets selling needlework. Since Islamic law does not allow Turkish women to sell and buy, they sold their to Jewish women. ā¦ They ordinarily sold towels, kerchiefs, headgear, white belts, cushion covers, and other such products of much greater value ā¦ that the Jews bought to sell to strangers.ā
145:, who were literate and more educated than the harem women, who were often slaves. Many kiras continued their activity when they became widows, and thus earned a personal income. It is unconfirmed whether kira was a formal position in the Ottoman court, or whether it was simply an informal phenomenon.
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goods to the women of the imperial harem could not be admitted themselves to the harem to show their products because they were men, so a custom developed in which their goods were displayed by their wives. This position of intermediary could be very lucrative for a merchant wife in that situation.
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The method of using non-Muslim women as intermediaries between men and Muslim businesswomen was a common phenomenon in all classes in the
Ottoman Empire. Muslim women were provided formal control of their own money, and thus theoretically allowed to participate in business. However, in practice their
100:, they could seldom leave the harem, and their contact with the outside world normally have to take place through an intermediary. Because they generally could not have contact with men, it was difficult for them to conduct their business, as
164:(r. 1618ā1622), is noted to have promoted a candidate to the office of governor of Moldavia by the name of Locadello; and in 1709, another female intermediary, possibly a Kira to the mother of Sultan
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She could win the confidence of the women, and eventually be asked to perform other tasks as well for the harem women, such as acting as secretaries, handling their correspondence, acquiring
168:(r. 1703ā1730), is noted to have assisted the Jewish physician Daniel de Fonseca in passing information to the sultan's mother regarding to the Ottoman-Swedish alliance against Russia.
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and performing medical treatments, and perform various business tasks for them, acting as their economic agents. This was particularly the case for educated Jewish elite women from
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Tallan, Cheryl and Emily Taitz. "Entrepreneurs." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive
Historical Encyclopedia. 27 February 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on March 16, 2021) <
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woman, who could pass freely in and out from the harem, as well as interact more freely with businessmen herself. This eventually resulted in the phenomena of the
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A History of the Jewish
Community in Istanbul, The Formative Years, 1453 ā 1566
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Some kiras became famous as influential favorites. The most famous kiras were
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Sephardi Jewry: A History of the Judeo-Spanish
Community, 14th-20th Centuries
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Ottoman Women
Builders: The Architectural Patronage of Hadice Turhan Sultan
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noted this phenomenon in the 16th century and reported that:
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The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.
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227:https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/entrepreneurs
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242:(2002).
67:History
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