She was schooled in the "Bedreka-yi İrfan", a private primary school of the notable educator Yusuf Rıza Efendi. She completed her secondary education at Lycée Notre Dame de Sion, İzmir. In 1922, she was sent to France for education upon recommendation of Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk), as he liberated İzmir from Greek invasion. She entered the Faculty of Letters at the University of Paris. During her study in Paris, she was supported by her paternal uncle Refik Nevzat, a prominent Young Turk. She graduated four years later, and returned home in 1926.