hatice sabiha was born to hajji ismail and his spouse ayşe in üsküdar, istanbul, then ottoman empire in 1888. her mother cared for the education of the children by working as a teacher for tailoring after her father died at her childhood. she finished üsküdar vocational high school for girls in 1903, and graduated from istanbul dârülmuallimât (teacher's college of istanbul) in 1906.