As SES Equality and Solidarity Association, we have once again embarked on selecting ‘SES Women of the Year’ for 2025. They are an inspiration for democracy defenders, peace builders, and for every woman and women’s movement in Turkey and around the world.
Join our selection process to honor the courageous and inspiring women of 2025.
At the end of each year, we enter into an exciting rush. We have begun intensive work to select the SES Women of the Year, which we are organizing for the fifth time.
2025 has been a year marked by war, genocide, and increased pressure from right-wing authoritarian governments against women’s and LGBTIQ movements. The SES Women of the Year 2025 nominees are those who, through their solidarity and resistance, and by lending their voice to peace, brought light to this dark year. We selected our candidates from Turkey and around the world based on the movements that came to the forefront in 2025.
The candidate selection process itself was full of hope. Compiling these bright lights within 2025’s grey landscape gives one the feeling that “not everything is so bad.”
Key movements that stood out in 2025
The candidates were selected based on the key movements that came to prominence in 2025. These include:
Solidarity with Palestine
Resistance of dissidents against authoritarian regimes
Solidarity and resistance of wives of detained mayors in Turkey and the women supporting them
Women taking the lead in discussions on the peace process in Turkey
The feminist women’s movement in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan
LGBTQ+ movements
Climate activists and climate movements
Labour movements
Women voices in music, sport, science, and business
This year’s fifth annual SES Women of the Year Awards 2025, we have identified 40 candidates – 15 international and 25 from Turkey. We prepared a voting with these candidates for our followers and the public to participate. We will select the ‘Women of the Year’ who have been pioneers in women’s rights advocacy or gender equality efforts in Turkey and worldwide in 2025, who serve as examples through their egalitarian and feminist stance, inspire women with their achievements, or contribute to solidarity by resisting systematic oppression.
We set the following criteria for SES Women of the Year, carefully considering each candidate, and identified 31 individuals and groups – 5 international and 26 from Turkey – as candidates for 2024 SES Women of the Year:
- Advocating for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, human rights, environmental rights, and labor rights in Turkey and globally
- Defending gender equality
- Demonstrating a feminist stance in the struggle for freedom and equality
- Inspiring women through their achievements and serving as role models
- Showing courage and determination in resisting systemic oppression
- Standing in solidarity with, and contributing to, struggles for gender equality, climate justice, and human rights
- Advocating for peace in Turkey and around the world
- Fighting the climate crisis in a systematic and sustainable way
- Developing creative forms of activism, including the use of technology
The SES Women of the Year 2025 Candidate List has been prepared and is ready for voting. I recommend reading all these brave, extraordinary, inspiring profiles one by one.
Voting will continue until Monday, December 24th. You can participate in voting here.
The Women of the Year Award Ceremony will be held at Pera Museum on the January 15th, 2026.
You can access extensive information about the SES Women of the Year Award ceremonies we have held since 2021 on the SES Association website.
Gulseren Onanc