Faika Onan

Born in 1905, Faika Onan was the daughter of İsameddin Onan, remembered as the last mufti of Siroz. İsameddin Onan was the son of Fethullah Fehmi Efendi, mufti of Siroz, and the brother of Serezli Mehmed Esad Efendi. The family belonged to the Müftüzâdeler, one of the established scholarly families of the Balkans.

A graduate of the Philosophy Department of the Darülfünun, Faika Onan served as a teacher and administrator in important educational institutions of the period, including Istanbul Girls’ High School, Kandilli Girls’ High School and Erenköy Girls’ High School. She served as principal of Istanbul Girls’ High School and was principal of Erenköy Girls’ High School between 1942 and 1945.

Faika Onan was also one of the early women educators in philosophy in the Republican period. Her work Dekart ve Felsefesi was among the early Turkish texts on Descartes. She also influenced later generations who turned toward philosophy; philosopher and writer Nuran Direk remembered Faika İsam Onan as the teacher who drew her closer to philosophy at Istanbul Girls’ High School.

Faika Onan died on 27 January 1964 and was buried in the family plot in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery, where her grandfather Mufti Fethullah Efendi was also buried.