beginning in 1882, emine semiye worked as a turkish and literature teacher in istanbul and in other provinces. she served as an inspector at girls’ schools and an assistant nurse at şişli etfal hospital. her writings on politics and education were published in the newspapers such as "mütalaa" (in thessalonica) and "hanımlara mahsus gazete" ("newspaper for women" in english) after the declaration of constitutional monarchy in 1908 (see second constitutional era). she also wrote a math textbook entitled "hulasa-i ilm-i hesap" in 1893. her most-known novels are "sefalet" (1908) ("poverty") and "gayya kuyusu" ("the pit of hell").