[2] It was bestowed on selected women for distinguished humanitarian or charitable works, or as a token of the Sultan's esteem.

[3] Recipients included non-Ottoman citizens, including the English painter Margaret Murray Cookesley for her portrait of the Sultan's son,[4] Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood (1883), wife of the Earl of Dufferin who was British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,[5] and to American social reformer Ellen Martin Henrotin (1893).

[6] The badge consists of a five pointed star in gold and crimson enamel, with a central gold medallion bearing the Sultan's cypher, surrounded by a green enamelled band with the words "Humanity, Assistance, Patriotism" in Ottoman Turkish.

The star rests upon a circular wreath enamelled green with crimson berries, the whole mounted on another star with radiant points.

The decoration is hung from a star and crescent suspension, enamelled red.