The 5th SES Women of the Year 2025 Awards Ceremony, organised by the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, was held on 15 January at the Pera Museum. Awards were presented to individuals and organisations who distinguished themselves in 2025 through their feminist stance, their courage in resisting systematic oppression, and their contributions to social struggles in solidarity.
The 5th SES Women of the Year 2025 Awards Ceremony, organised by the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, took place on the evening of 15 January at the Pera Museum with a large turnout. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the women’s movement, environmental and climate activists, members of parliament, academics, journalists, media professionals, and artists. The awards were presented to individuals and organisations who stood out in the struggle for freedom and equality in 2025 with their feminist stance; who showed courage and determination in resisting systematic oppression; and who contributed to social struggles in solidarity.
The ceremony was hosted by journalist and writer Ayşen Şahin and brought together representatives of the women’s movement, environmental and climate activists, members of parliament, representatives of workers and employers, academics, journalists, media professionals, and artists. CHP Chair Özgür Özel also attended and presented one of the awards.
Özgür Özel: “I am incredibly grateful to the friends I will be giving this award to (the Saraçhane Student Movement).”
At the ceremony, CHP Chair Özgür Özel took the stage to present an award to representatives of the Saraçhane Student Movement. He began his speech by saying, “I was deeply moved and filled with hope by the speeches of women who defend life in different parts of the world and Turkey,” referring to the SES Women of the Year ceremony and the struggles of women from around the world who received awards. He then continued as he presented awards to the representatives of the Saraçhane student movement:
“On 19 March, when we made the call, we said, ‘Whatever is going to happen will happen tonight.’ The area in front of Saraçhane was completely empty, and 3,000 to 4,000 CHP members were on Vatan Street. There were young people in front of Istanbul University. There were barriers in front of them as well. If those two barriers had not been broken one after the other and 6,000 to 7,000 people had not gathered in that square and called out from there, ‘We are here, come,’ then that square would not have had 110,000 people that night and 1.1 million people on Sunday evening. If there is hope right now, it exists thanks to these friends. The energy of the majority is with us. Thanks to them, we will all win together. On 19 March, they led the first word. The last word will be spoken by all of Turkey at the ballot box.”
Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu: “I accept this award on behalf of everyone, especially the women being held hostage in jail.”
Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, who received the award on behalf of the Family Solidarity Network (ADA), said in her acceptance speech that they had had their share of injustices in 2025 and continued:
“We already knew that we were not alone. From the very beginning, the people have shown us this every single time. We are not alone; we are a very large family. I accept this award on behalf of everyone, especially the women who are being held hostage and imprisoned. Because they truly stood tall and showed great resilience throughout this process, and continue to do so. I accept it on behalf of all our friends who are being held captive and taken hostage.”
Borderless Women’s Solidarity from Iran to Afghanistan
Narges Keshavarznia, who received the award on behalf of women resisting the oppressive regime in Iran, said in her speech that this award showed that solidarity “has no borders.” She could not hold back her tears as she spoke about a woman named Ayda, who, when confronted by the Revolutionary Guards, resisted instead of fleeing, saying, “Shoot me, I have nothing left to lose,” and said that this revealed the reality of women in Iran.
The award given to FEMENA, which supports women human rights defenders in the Middle East and Asia, especially in Afghanistan, was received by Sharazad Akbar, Afghanistan’s award-winning human rights defender. In her speech, Akbar said that the Taliban had issued 135 decrees to date restricting women’s lives and stated, “This regime prevents us from working, from learning, and even from imagining a better future.” She supported women’s resistance in Afghanistan by reciting the poem Faceless (Bi-Çehre) by Mariam Meetra.
Gülseren Onanç: “In a year when politics created crisis, the objection of women and young people rose.”
In her opening speech at the ceremony, SES Equality and Solidarity Association Founding Chair Gülseren Onanç said:
“The year 2025 was a year in which those holding power created a crisis. But for precisely this reason, it was also a year in which society’s resistance increased. It was a year in which democracy regressed by 50 years worldwide, authoritarian governments ruled 72 per cent of the world’s population, and many states remained silent while a massacre was taking place in Gaza. But society did not remain silent; it objected. This objection rose from squares, from university campuses, from villages, from inside the blockade in Gaza, from boats approaching Gaza by sea, and from social media platforms. In 2025, women did not only voice their own grievances. They rebuilt the moral compass that the world had lost. The SES Women of the Year became representatives of resilience, solidarity, and hopeful persistence. We are grateful to them for their courage and determination. With these symbolic awards of SES, we wish to express our gratitude.”
The ceremony, which began with music by Feryal Öney and Selda Öztürk, took place in an atmosphere of celebration filled with intense emotion and excitement.
Recipients of the SES Women of the Year 2025 Awards
The SES Women of the Year 2025 Awards were presented to individuals and organisations from Turkey and around the world who have advanced the struggle for democracy, justice, labour rights, and the right to life. The Global Sumud Flotilla, represented by Greta Thunberg and Yasemin Acar; the Saraçhane Student Movement; and Palestinian women journalists were honoured as symbols of resistance that amplified public dissent and carried solidarity beyond borders. The struggles of Parastoo Ahmadi, Nina Golestani, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, representing women resisting Iran’s oppressive regime, were also recognised for transforming resistance to authoritarianism into a global search for freedom. FEMENA, which supports women human rights defenders across the Middle East and Asia, particularly in Afghanistan, was among the award recipients for giving voice to women in the region.
From Turkey, the following were honored within the scope of SES Women of the Year 2025: Berrin Sönmez’s strong objection to institutional pressures on women’s bodies and faith; the justice struggle of the “First Children and Women” Association; the ecological resistance led by women of the Gökçeyazı Türkmen Mountain Environmental Protection and Solidarity Association; the labor struggle of the Private Sector Teachers’ Union; the feminist memory work of the Istanbul Gender Museum; the nature defense of the Gola Association; the long-term efforts of the women of the Hrant Dink Foundation to protect social peace and memory; and the weekly call for justice raised from Saraçhane by the Family Solidarity Network of Detained Municipal Officials (ADA). These awards once again made visible that women are not only claimants of rights but essential political subjects who keep democracy alive.
Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to the Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Foundation
The SES Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Foundation for its struggle against violence against women since 1990; for persistently working so that women can build free and independent lives; for successfully fighting male violence through feminist methods; for empowering women by providing legal, social, and psychological support in solidarity centers and shelters; and for developing policy proposals to combat violence and achieve gender equality.
Filiz Kerestecioğlu, who received the award, said:
“We set out at the end of the eighties as a handful of women; now we have reached millions. We accept this award not only on behalf of Mor Çatı but on behalf of all the women whose paths have crossed with Mor Çatı.”