Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar

Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar, ("Khadija Khayriya Ayesha Dürrühsehvar" or Turkish: Hatice Hayriye Ayşe Dürrüşehvar), also known as Durru Shevar (born January 26, 1914 in Çamlıca, Üsküdar, İstanbul, Turkey – died February 7, 2006) was the daughter of Abdul Mejid Efendi of Turkey, son of Sultan Abdülâziz and the last heir apparent to the Ottoman throne and the last Caliph of the Muslim world.

Biography

Youth

The princess was born in Turkey when the Ottoman Empire was passing through its last phase. Her father, Caliph Abdul Mejid, went into exile in the south of France after the abolition of the Caliphate by Kemal Ataturk in 1924.

Marriage

On the family's exile to France in 1924, she was sought by the Shah of Persia and King Fuad I of Egypt as a bride for their respective heirs, Mohammed Reza and Farouk, and by Prince Azam Jah (1907 - 1970), the eldest son and heir of the last Nizam of Hyderabad State, Osman Ali Khan, Asif Jah VII, whom she married in Nice, France, on November 12, 1931. Her first cousin Princess Niloufer, was married to Prince Moazzam Jah, the second son of the Nizam.

The marriage of the princess was performed, in the south of France, by the good offices of Maulana Shaukat Ali, brother of Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar, the leader of the Khilafat Movement in India.

It was believed at that time that the matrimonial alliance between the Nizam, the richest ruler in the world of his time, and the deposed Caliph would lead to the emergence of a Muslim ruler who could be acceptable to the world powers in place of the Ottoman sultans. Princess Durru Shahvar, whose father was raised by a branch of the Ottoman monarchy deeply interested in modernizing reforms and believed in modern education for women including his wives and daughter, became a popular public figure after her arrival in Hyderabad. She believed that women should earn their own living, and helped to remove the practice of purdah.

Later life

Following the birth of her sons Prince Mukarram Jah in 1933 and Prince Muffakham Jah in 1936, she took charge of their upbringing, the two princes being educated in Britain and also marrying Turkish ladies. The last Nizam later bypassed his own son and nominated her first son and his grandson, as his successor.

The Princess became the first woman to inaugurate an airport when she inaugurated the airport in Hyderabad in the 1940s. She is also credited with inaugurating the Osmania General Hospital. She set up the Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital for women and children in the old city of Hyderabad. Her last public appearance in the city was when she presided over the opening ceremony of the Nizam’s Silver Jubilee Museum in 2000.

External links

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/11/db1102.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/11/ixportal.html Telegraph: Obituary for Princess Dürrühsehvar of Berar]
* [http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060213/asp/frontpage/story_5839885.asp The Calcutta Telegraph: "Goodbye, sweet princess - India’s great beauties before the pageant came in"]
* [http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=5916 NewKerala.com: "Nizam's daughter-in-law passes away"]
* [http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=274318&sid=NEW Deccan Chronice: "Princess Durru dead"]
* [http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/10/stories/2006021011660400.htm When marriage brought continents closer]