In 1965, Şule Yüksel Şenler left the Western modern lifestyle and turned to a religious life and entered the hijab. Şenler, who also took painting, music, ney and law training, was widely talked about in those years and set an example for young people. Şenler, who works ‘to help Muslim girls get rid of the fashion clamp’, is a role model for young people in this field, and makes efforts to introduce the headscarf into the lives of educated Muslim women, wrote articles in the Yeni İstiklal newspaper, published by Mehmet Şevket Eygi, and lawsuits were filed against her because of these articles. Şenler, who was the head of the Literature and Culture Branch of the Bakırköy Youth Branch of the Justice Party (AP), left his mark on the 1960s and 1970s with his lectures and articles, which she toured around Anatolia.
The headscarf model began to be called ‘Şulebaş’
The debates that took place as a result of the young girls covering their heads in the same way, who took the master writer as an example, took place on the agenda of the country for a long time. The constant increase in the number of women wearing hijab who tie their heads like Şenler, upon this, this type of covering began to be known as ‘Şulebaş’. The modern headscarf and overcoat models drawn by Şenler, who started her broadcasting career in 1960 as a female journalist with a headscarf at a time when women journalists were pointed out, started to spread rapidly among young girls.
Şenler loudly expressed her demand to remove the barriers preventing headscarved students from being able to study with hijab at university. Senler pointed out by then-President Cevdet Sunay's words, ‘The pioneers of the veiled women and girls on the street will be punished,’ and published a letter, noting that the President should apologize to Almighty God and the nation. The writer, who was arrested on charges of ‘insulting the President’, completed her 8-month sentence in Bursa Prison, although she was pardoned 2 months later. Şenler, prepared women's pages for Hür Söz, Yeni İstiklal, Sabah newspapers in Babıali.
The novel "Huzur Sokağı" attracted attention in cinema and television
She worked as a columnist for the newspaper Bugün, was the editor-in-chief of the magazine Seher Vakti, and has published articles in the Milli Gazete for a long time after 1980. Şenler's novel "Huzur Sokağı" was adapted to the cinema with the movie "Birleşen Yollar", directed by Yücel Çakmaklı and starring İzzet Günay and Türkan Şoray. The novel "Huzur Sokağı", which still attracts the attention of young readers, was turned into a television series with the same name in 2012 and met with the audience. Master writer also wrote the works: "Gençliğin Izdırabı", "Hidayet", "Bize Ne Oldu", "İslam’da ve Günümüzde Kadın", "Duyuşlar", "Her Şey İslam İçin", "Uygarlığın Gözyaşları", "Kız ve Çiçek", "Sağ El", "Bir Bilinçli Öğretmen" and "Yılanla Tilki".
She was buried in Mihrişah Valide Sultan Cemetery
The funeral prayer of Şenler, who died at the age of 81 on August 28, 2019 in the hospital where she was treated, was attended by many people from the world of culture, art and politics. Şenler's body was buried in the grave prepared for her in Mihrişah Valide Sultan Cemetery. Named after the master pen, Şule Yüksel Şenler Girls' Imam Hatip High Schools were put into service for young people in Pendik districts of Istanbul, Karesi districts of Balıkesir and Batman.
Various service buildings such as "Şule Yüksel Şenler Women Mansion" where activities for women are held in Esenler and "Şule Yüksel Şenler Information House" in the Zafer District of Muş were named after the master writer. The Şule Yüksel Şenler Foundation, which was established after her death with the aim of increasing the meaning of the experience and knowledge that the name Şule Yüksel Şenler represents, started the project "There is a Way From Heart to Heart: Letters to Şule Yüksel Şenler", which can be applied for until October 14.