As a leading Armenian professor of history and director of the Women and Gender Studies Program at MIT, Lerna Ekmekcioglu is dedicated to uncovering the lost voices of Armenian feminists. Her research highlights the contributions of women who once shaped intellectual and political life in the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic as well as the post-genocide diaspora—only to have their legacies disrupted by genocide and systemic discrimination.
“I have been searching for these role models,” Ekmekcioglu says. “There were active, intellectually engaged Armenian women, but history suffered a rupture. Their efforts were cut short, not just by Genocide but also by the post-Genocide discriminatory milieu both in Turkey and in the diaspora.”
Born in Istanbul in the late 1970s, she grew up surrounded by intelligent, capable women who, despite their potential, faced systemic barriers. “They were at the intersection of two discriminations: being Armenian and being women,” she explains. That reality shaped her academic journey. With support from an AGBU scholarship when she was an undergraduate in Istanbul, Ekmekcioglu later earned her PhD from NYU and dedicated her career to documenting the struggles and contributions of Armenians in post-genocide Turkey, especially Armenian women and feminists. Today, she holds the distinguished title of McMillan-Stewart Professor of History and serves as the Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program at MIT.
Currently, she is co-authoring Feminism in Armenian History: Twelve Biographies and Primary Sources with Dr. Melissa Bilal, set for release in 2026. Together with two colleagues at the American University of Armenia, she is also researching the life of a Russian Armenian woman from Artsakh in a project backed by MIT’s new Armenia seed grant, all while remaining deeply engaged with her Armenian community in Boston. Through her work, Ekmekcioglu ensures these long-overlooked stories finally receive the recognition they deserve.
Q Tell us about the Armenian women in your own life. Who inspired you to specialize in women’s studies?
A This is a defining question for me because I didn’t grow up with role models—except for my mom. As Armenians in Turkey, we were restricted in many ways. Even the smartest among us couldn’t pursue much, especially women like my mother, my aunt, and others from both sides of my family. They were incredibly intelligent, yet their potential remained unfulfilled due to the dual discrimination of being both Armenian and female.
As a child, I was intellectually curious, but I had no Armenian female historians or professors to look up to. I grew up in a community that valued education but was more community-oriented than academically focused. I belong to one of the first generations of Turkish Armenian women who are both academically and community engaged. Unintentionally, through my research, I have been searching for these role models.
Q Was there a turning point in your studies, especially as one of the few female historians from Istanbul?
A Yes, about 20 years ago, when I was a graduate student. My colleague Melissa Bilal, a fellow Armenian from Istanbul (now chair of the Promise Institute of Armenian Art, Culture, and Music at UCLA), and I published a book in Turkish about the first five Armenian feminists in the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic: Bir Adalet Feryadı, Osmanlı’dan Cumhuriyet’e Beş Ermeni Feminist Yazar (1862–1933) (A Cry for Justice: Five Armenian Feminist Writers from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic (1862–1933)).
We published the book in Turkey, in Turkish, and to our surprise, it became incredibly popular. It went through multiple reprints, was frequently quoted, and became a part of university syllabi in some universities. That encouragement reinforced our mission.
Q What are you currently working on in terms of Armenian women’s history?
A Now, 20 years later, we are working on another book set for release in 2026. It will spotlight the most prominent Armenian women activists and writers from the 1860s to the 1960s. These women, originally Ottoman subjects from Istanbul, dispersed around the world if they survived the Genocide—relocating to France, the United States, Lebanon, Soviet Armenia, and, in the case of a couple of them case, remaining in Turkey. There are 12 women in total.
We’ve been working on this for years, and we plan to publish it in English, Armenian, and Turkish.
Q Why is it important to share these testimonies?
A Our goal is to create a resource that integrates Armenian women into broader historical narratives—whether Middle Eastern studies, Ottoman history, Turkish history, or global feminism. We also want non-Armenian scholars, particularly those in Middle Eastern women’s studies, to incorporate these stories into their syllabi.
Each chapter will feature 50 pages of selected texts translated from Armenian to English, allowing these women to speak in their own voices. These figures were significant historical actors of their time. However, their contributions were erased—not because they were never recognized, but because their history was later removed from the literary canon because of Armenian sexism
This is also about survival. When we lacked contemporary role models, we filled that void with these historical figures—not to romanticize them, but to acknowledge their significance. They had their flaws and faced criticism, often from the male intellectual elite of their time. But their work was groundbreaking. Researching and writing about them has been both challenging and rewarding—a way of confronting the realities of our history.
Q How can these stories come to life beyond the page?
A The book will include a digital humanities component, featuring a documentary archive with digitized publications by these women from around the world. This online resource will launch alongside the book, offering deeper research opportunities.
Additionally, we have curated a digital exhibition with a professional curator, the art historian Sevan Injejikian, showcasing these women’s lives through visuals and archival materials. This will be followed by a physical exhibition in Yerevan and in the Boston area and maybe in California, displaying historical objects, photographs, and other artifacts related to these trailblazing Armenian women.
By making their stories accessible in multiple formats, we aim to ensure their legacies endure and inspire future generations.
To learn more about Armenian feminism in post-Genocide Turkey, click here to watch the AGBUWebTalks with Lerna Ekmekcioglu.
