She held the position of Valide Sultan from 30 May 1876 to 31 August 1876, when her son Şehzade Murad ascended the throne as Murad V.[2] Of Mingrelian and Circassian origin, Şevkefza Kadın was born on 12 December 1820 and she was presented at the age of seven during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, by the first imam, Zeynelabidin Efendi.

[3] She has been described as a woman of extraordinary beauty, of medium height, curvy, with black eyes and hair, and very kindly, but not very intelligent, easy to influence and devoid of cunning.

The attempt failed and all three were hated by Pertevniyal Sultan, Abdülaziz's mother, who denied them any request during his reign.

[4] Her son appointed her reported chief ally, Damat Nuri Pasha, as Lord Pasha, after which Şevkefza and Damat were to have confiscated all the gold coins and jewelry hidden away by Abdülaziz and his mother, the former valide sultan Pertevniyal Sultan, in the harem of Dolmabahçe Palace.

[10][11] After reigning for ninety-three days, Murad was deposed on 31 August 1876 for mental problems, and he and his family were imprisoned in the Çırağan Palace.

On the night of the Ali Suavi incident, in 1877, when Murad's partisans tried to reinstate him on the throne, Şevkefza encouraged him to play his part.

[14] She died on 17 September 1889 at the Çırağan Palace, Ortaköy, Istanbul, and was buried in the mausoleum of the new ladies at the Yeni Mosque.