2025 SES Women of the Year Nominees Survey

As SES Equality and Solidarity Association, we select the SES Women of the Year every year. For 2025, we have identified our list of nominees based on the criteria below. We have selected 40 groups and individuals from Turkey and around the world.

Our criteria:

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

We kindly ask you to select the names you see as the 2025 SES Women of the Year. If you believe someone is missing from the list, please add their name in the comment section below.

Selecting at least 10 nominees will help us form a meaningful final list.

Thank you for supporting us in determining the 2025 SES Women of the Year in a participatory way!

SES Equality and Solidarity Association

1.We kindly ask you to select at least 10 nominees from the list below.

1. Women Journalists from Palestine

Bisan Owda
Bisan Owda, a young journalist, documentary filmmaker, and vlogger living in Gaza, has drawn global attention to the region through her daily video reports from within the war and blockade. Through her Instagram account wizard_bisan1, she documented life under bombardment, displaced families, and the resilience of women in her series titled “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive.” Her recurring phrase, “I’m still alive,” has become a symbol of survival. In 2024, Owda received international recognition—including the Peabody Award, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and a News & Documentary Emmy—demonstrating how local witnessing can evolve into a powerful global conscience.

Hind Khoudary
Hind Khoudary, a Palestinian journalist based in Gaza, became widely known for her coverage during the most intense periods of the war. Reporting for Al Jazeera English and various international media outlets, she conveyed the humanitarian crisis experienced by civilians directly from the ground. Khoudary has repeatedly highlighted the dangers of reporting in Gaza, underscoring the cost of her profession with her statement: “Journalists have zero protection.”

Maha Hussaini
Maha Hussaini is a Gaza-based Palestinian journalist and human rights advocate. She has covered military campaigns on the ground since 2014, with her reports featured on international platforms. She worked with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor and received the Martin Adler Prize in 2020. Hussaini’s work centers on exposing the humanitarian crisis. In 2024, her IWMF Courage in Journalism Award was withdrawn due to past social media posts, a decision that illustrates the political and professional pressures faced by women journalists in conflict zones.

Mariam Barghouti
Mariam Barghouti is a Palestinian-American writer, journalist, and researcher whose work has appeared in The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, and The New York Times. Her writing focuses on life under occupation, the relationship between media and colonial power structures, and issues of social justice. Her widely circulated 2021 piece, “Why are Palestinians protesting? Because we want to live,” brought attention to media censorship and digital discrimination. With more than 260,000 followers on social media, she continues to share on-the-ground commentary and critical analysis.

2. Greta Thunberg and Yasemin Acar: On Behalf of the Global Sumud Flotilla

Global Sumud Flotilla, founded in 2025, is an independent international civil society coalition that aims to break the blockade on Gaza, deliver humanitarian aid, and make the Palestinian people’s resistance visible.

Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg became a symbol of the global youth climate movement through the school strikes she launched in 2018. The “Fridays for Future” network mobilized millions of young people around the world for climate justice and created an awareness known as the “Greta effect.” By supporting the Global Sumud Flotilla in 2025, she emphasized that environmental justice cannot be separated from political and humanitarian justice. For Thunberg, Palestine is “a universal test of the struggle for justice” and a place where remaining silent amounts to complicity. Thunberg brings together climate activism with human rights and conscience-based solidarity.

Yasemin Acar
Born in Germany in 1988 to a Kurdish family, Yasemin Acar has long been active in the fields of human rights and refugee solidarity. She currently serves on the executive board of the Global Sumud Flotilla, acting as one of the movement’s women leaders. Acar highlights the importance of peaceful resistance, stressing the need to “deliver a message to a world that remains silent.” With her statement, “We do not carry weapons; we only carry baby formula, flour, and medicine,” she expresses the essence of civil disobedience and international solidarity.

3. On Behalf of the Gaza Biennial and the Istanbul Pavilion: Tasneem Shatat and Shulamit Bruckstein Çoruh

Since April 2024, artists in Gaza have come together to use art as a form of resistance against genocide, launching a global art movement called the Gaza Biennial. Bringing together more than forty artists, this biennial reminds the world of the essential role of art in defending human dignity. The 2025 Gaza Biennial Istanbul section was exhibited at Galata Depo between 19 September and 8 November. The two curators of this biennial are Tasneem Shatat and Shulamit Bruckstein Çoruh.

Tasneem Shatat
Born in 1998 in Khan Yunis, Gaza, Tasneem Shatat is the co-founder of the Gaza Biennial and a young artist and mathematician who continued creating even during the war. Her artistic journey, which began at the Al Risan Art Museum in April 2024, transformed into an international resistance movement bringing together artists from across Gaza. Despite being displaced twice, she continued organizing the biennial. In her work titled “The Journey of the Displaced,”Shatat documents hope, memory, and human dignity in the midst of war, viewing art as a symbol of both resistance and rebirth.

Shulamit Bruckstein Çoruh
Shulamit Bruckstein Çoruh is an internationally respected thinker, curator, and scholar in the fields of Jewish philosophy, visual theory, and Taswir studies. She has held professorships in major centers such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Jerusalem. Founder of Taswir Projects and creator of the Taswir Atlas, Bruckstein has developed cultural critiques on Jewish and Islamic hermeneutics. Her work represents a pioneering approach that redefines the artistic and philosophical dimensions of knowledge production.

4. On Behalf of Students for Justice in Palestine: Rümeysa Öztürk

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which organizes solidarity protests for Palestine on university campuses across the United States, has become one of the most influential student networks globally. Through sit-ins and campus occupations, it has drawn significant attention from international media. Despite attempts to suppress peaceful demonstrations, the movement has become a powerful symbol of solidarity, bringing together freedom of expression on campuses, academic boycott, and the defense of human rights.

Rümeysa Öztürk, a student of Turkish origin involved in this movement, became a target due to her active role in pro-Palestine demonstrations in the United States. Her arrest in 2025 sparked international reaction, and she continued her struggle by stating, “Demanding justice for Palestine is not a crime.” Öztürk’s courage and the spirit of solidarity embodied by SJP remind us that universities can be spaces not only of knowledge but also of conscience.

5. On Behalf of Columbia University Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine: Marwa Elshakry and Marianne Hirsch

Columbia Faculty for Justice in Palestine (CFJP) was formed at Columbia University when faculty members came together in 2024 following the detention of students who were protesting in solidarity with Palestine. In an open letter, the group emphasized the need to protect students’ freedom of expression and called on the university administration to end police intervention.

Prof. Marianne Hirsch, one of the group’s members, described solidarity in the face of campus pressure as “a return to the ethical foundations of the university.” The initiative of CFJP has become a symbol of faculty standing alongside students not only at Columbia, but on campuses worldwide. The movement has redefined the power of knowledge at a point where free thought intersects with the demand for justice.

6. Jewish Voice for Peace Initiative (USA)

Founded in California in 1996, Jewish Voice for Peace is one of the largest Jewish civil society networks supporting the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom. JVP has made its voice heard through peaceful actions, calls for academic boycott, and public campaigns opposing Israel’s occupation policies. Their ceasefire demonstrations held in front of the U.S. Congress in 2024 delivered a powerful message to the global media: “Jewish identity is not synonymous with the policies of the Israeli state.” With its justice-based activism that brings together faith, conscience, and human rights, JVP stands out as a distinct voice within Jewish communities.

7. Rabbis for Ceasefire Initiative (USA)

Founded in October 2023 by more than 80 rabbis and rabbinical students, Rabbis for Ceasefire emerged as a movement of religious conscience calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Rooted in the principle of “pikuach nefesh,” meaning “the preservation of life,” the group drew attention with its peaceful sit-ins held in front of the Brooklyn Bridge in 2024. This network of rabbis and religious leaders reminded the public that “remaining silent in the face of war is also a choice,” underscoring the ethical responsibility within the Jewish faith tradition toward peace and the right to life. Composed largely of feminist women rabbis, Rabbis for Ceasefire has become one of the strongest examples of faith-based resistance and calls for social justice.

8. Palestine Action (United Kingdom)

The UK-based direct action collective Palestine Action is known for its protests against companies that supply weapons to Israel. Founded in 2020, the group has carried out occupations, paint actions, and factory shutdowns targeting defense giants like Elbit Systems under the slogan “justice is impossible as long as the arms trade continues.” In October 2025, they achieved a major legal victory by winning the case they filed against the UK Home Office’s decision to designate them as a “prohibited organization.” Palestine Action challenges both the war industry and the legacy of colonialism by combining civil disobedience with environmentally and ethically grounded direct action.

9. Jawad Camp Civil Initiative (Gaza)

Jawad Camp is a civil initiative in Gaza that provides children who have been disabled or displaced by the war with a healing space through play, poetry, yoga, and meditation. Established in 2024, the camp offers not only psychological support to traumatized children but also a safe environment where they can reconnect with creativity. Volunteer instructors at the camp help children transform the fear stored in their bodies through yoga and breathing therapies. One of the camp’s most touching projects was the publication of A Million Kites, a book composed of children’s own poems. Compiled by Childish Books, this work amplifies the voices of young writers in Gaza and reminds the world of the healing power of words in the face of war trauma.

10. Saraçhane Student Movement

Born in the heart of Istanbul in March 2025, the Saraçhane student movement entered Turkey’s recent history as a powerful act of civil resistance led by young people demanding democracy, freedom, and justice. The movement grew under the leadership of students from various universities and women’s collectives. In a short time, Saraçhane became not only a site of protest but also a symbol of a new political consciousness and a spirit of solidarity. Despite police interventions and detentions, the students maintained their peaceful stance and garnered widespread support across the country through social media.

11. Solidarity Network of Families of Detained Municipal Officials (ADA)

Throughout 2025, the wives of detained mayors and the women supporting them came to the forefront through regular gatherings in Istanbul’s Saraçhane Park under the name of the Family Solidarity Network. With the participation of Dr. Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu, these gatherings brought visibility to the demand for fair trials and resonated widely with the public. The network made rights violations visible through press statements and live broadcasts, amplified the voices of families of detainees, and reiterated the call for law and human rights. Regular meetings strengthened volunteer coordination and received support from various political circles.

This solidarity transformed the families’ personal pain into a public struggle for rights, bringing demands for democracy and the rule of law to the center of public consciousness. The Friday gatherings demonstrated the power of local organizing while reinforcing women’s presence and influence in civil spaces.

12. On Behalf of the Novi Sad Student Movement, Serbia: Teodora Gardović

The roof collapse at Novi Sad train station in November 2024, which resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people, sparked a major anti-corruption movement led by young people in Serbia. University students described the disaster as the result of state negligence and extensive corruption networks. Silence demonstrations and vigils in public spaces, held in reference to the collapse at 11:52, quickly became symbols of the movement. Students demanded transparency in public procurement, an independent investigation, and accountability for those responsible. The protests spread from Novi Sad to Belgrade, becoming one of the most visible examples of youth-led civil resistance against the country’s longstanding governance crisis.

23-year-old Teodora Gardović emerged as one of the most prominent female figures of the student movement. As reported by Le Monde, Gardović represented the voice of students demanding “real political accountability beyond technical examinations.” Active in silence demonstrations, forums, and youth gatherings, she became one of the symbolic names of women-led youth resistance against corruption.

13. Georgia European Union Integration Protests

From late 2024 through 2025, protests in Tbilisi and other major cities expressed public anger over the government’s postponement of Georgia’s EU integration process. Allegations of irregularities after the 26 October 2024 elections and the delay of the EU membership timeline to 2028 deepened concerns about the country’s democratic future. Young people and university students, under the slogan “We are Europe,” continued to organize mass marches, campus occupations, and peaceful sit-ins. Despite increasing government pressure, the movement quickly became a symbol of national democratic resistance. Shaped by young leaders and academics, it reaffirmed the Georgian people’s commitment to European values and revived the tradition of civil resistance against authoritarianism.

14. GenZ Uprisings (Nepal, Morocco, Kenya, Madagascar)

A new wave of protests rapidly organized by youth through digital networks became prominent in four countries in 2025. In Nepal, social media bans and corruption allegations in September mobilized young people into mass marches. Student reactions, initially limited to campuses, quickly expanded into public demands for accountability. In Kenya, protests led by youth in June and July focused on worsening economic conditions and alleged police violence. In Madagascar, youth anger fueled by water and electricity cuts triggered widespread protests that applied serious political pressure on the government. In Morocco, young people organized under GenZ 212 mobilized nationwide against inequalities in health and education services.

This generation rapidly mobilizes using shared platforms, pressures for transparency and improved public services, and reproduces similar forms of action by inspiring each other. This emerging opposition, visible in Nepal, Kenya, Madagascar, and Morocco, is transforming youth participation into a sustained line of political pressure, while renewing debates on institutional accountability and the legitimacy of street politics.

15. On Behalf of Resisting Women in Afghanistan: FEMENA

FEMENA, founded in 2017, is a transnational feminist organization supporting women’s human rights defenders in the Middle East and Asia. It aims to strengthen solidarity with women’s organizations operating in shrinking civic spaces and conflict settings, while creating visibility and learning opportunities. Its mission centers on promoting gender equality, inclusivity, and peace, as well as expanding civic space.

In Afghanistan, FEMENA raises the voices of women resisting the Taliban’s policies targeting their rights and freedoms through research, joint statements, and advocacy. It publishes reports on women in prison and cross-border pressures on activists. These efforts increase the visibility of women continuing the struggle in exile or at home, strengthen regional solidarity, and inspire young feminists.

16. On Behalf of Women Resisting the Regime in Iran: Parastoo Ahmadi, Nina Golestani, and Narges Mohammedi

Parastoo Ahmadi: Activist / Artist
Singer Parastoo Ahmadi became the focus of public attention in December 2024 with an action challenging Iran’s strict dress code and the ban on women performing alone on stage. Performing a virtual concert in a traditional caravanserai without wearing a headscarf and rejecting the regime’s norms, Ahmadi demonstrated the continuity of societal transformation in the arts shaped by the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom.” The concert quickly generated a significant digital impact. Through her voice, Ahmadi defended women’s struggle for freedom and confronted the regime’s control over artistic expression. Her subsequent arrest and trial highlighted the heavy price artists pay for freedom of expression. By refusing to remain silent, Ahmadi became a symbol of artistic freedom and women’s right to public presence, inspiring the expression of suppressed anger and the dream of a free nation through her music.

Nina Golestani: Activist / Writer

Writer and civil activist Nina Golestani was arbitrarily detained by the Revolutionary Guards in early March 2025 during a raid on her family home and transferred to Lakan Prison. Previously, she had been arrested and tried in November 2023 under similar charges, demonstrating the regime’s systematic repression of dissenting intellectuals. During her detention, the judge requested a review, deeming the bail insufficient. Golestani consistently criticized the state through her writings and social media posts under charges of “propaganda against the regime” and “assembly,” defending women’s rights. Her activism shows that the struggle for women’s rights and freedom of expression in Iran continues not only in the streets but also in intellectual and artistic circles.

Narges Mohammedi, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

Narges Mohammadi, born in Zanjan, Iran, in 1972, is a journalist and human rights defender. As vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center founded by Shirin Ebadi, she is known for her work on political prisoners’ rights, the abolition of the death penalty, and women’s fundamental freedoms. Since the 2000s, she has been repeatedly detained for her advocacy, sentenced to long prison terms, and spent years in Evin Prison. Despite these hardships, she continues to resist compulsory hijab, torture, and isolation while advocating for the protection of women in detention. Mohammadi has become one of the most powerful symbols of the women’s freedom movement in Iran, honored with the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize and numerous international human rights and freedom of expression awards.

17. 'I Need Peace' Women Initiative (Turkey)

At the beginning of 2025, women came together under the I Need Peace Women Initiative to make the demand for peace visible again. The initiative aims to remind that peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice and equality, and to establish a societal path of confrontation and healing grounded in women’s experiences. Starting with a founding call and workshops, the process seeks to amplify the will to be subjects of peace in public spaces. During the year, the Women’s Gathering for Peace in Istanbul’s Kadıköy Yoğurtçu Park brought together hundreds of women. With stands, forums, and joint statements, the demand for peace reached broad audiences. The events strengthened the transfer of knowledge and experience from the women’s movement to the peace process and inspired a solidarity network extending from the local to the national level

18. LGBT+ Initiative for Peace (Turkey)

On 10 October 2025, LGBT+ rights defenders announced the establishment of the LGBT+ Initiative for Peace through simultaneous statements. The initiative supported a democratic resolution to the Kurdish issue while emphasizing that peace is a right for everyone. It aimed to make visible the heavy burden that war policies and a climate of hate impose on LGBT+ communities. The statements reminded that equality and freedom are impossible in a country without peace. Through campaigns and joint statements, the demand for peace was socialized, local networks were connected, and youth participation increased. This initiative added an inclusive perspective to the peace agenda, creating a new civic line of action.

19. Feminist Writer and Activist Berrin Sönmez (Turkey)

Feminist writer and activist Berrin Sönmez took action on 1 August 2025 against the “Modesty and Decorum” sermon read in mosques by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, declaring, “I am taking off my headscarf.” This act highlighted resistance against formal pressures on the body. Sönmez questioned the traditional role model prescribed for women through clothing and belief by religion-politics, organizing a symbolic act of resistance. Her action quickly spread on social media and among feminist circles, drawing attention to institutional interventions into women’s beliefs and privacy. Sönmez’s stance became a symbol of women exercising agency over their own bodies and beliefs.

20. Aramızda Association for Gender Studies (Turkey)

Founded in 2017 by women and LGBTQ+ academics dismissed from higher education institutions in Turkey, the Aramızda Association for Gender Studies was established to continue gender and queer studies. Through projects such as Monitoring Support Mechanisms in Combating Sexual Violence and Empowering Women and LGBTQ+ Students in Universities, the association supports young feminist researchers and works to make gender-based discrimination visible. Additionally, it continuously challenges patriarchy through collective production and solidarity practices.

21. 'Children and Women First' Association (Turkey)

Founded in 2018 in Van and gradually expanding across many provinces in Turkey, the Association for Children and Women First aims to provide legal and psychological support to women and children who are victims of femicide, child abuse, and sexual assault. The association has handled numerous cases with volunteer lawyers, psychologists, and social workers. These efforts raised awareness that the forms of violence women and children face are not merely individual but systemic; the organization has become a source of inspiration and a symbol in the field of women’s and children’s rights.

22. We Need to Talk (Konuşmamız Gerek) Association (Turkey)

Operating in Turkey since 2016, the We Need to Talk Association supports women and youth in combating period poverty and related taboos. Co-founder İlayda Eskitaşçıoğlu, a lawyer, leads menstrual justice advocacy. Through initiatives such as the Period Poverty Research in Turkey and numerous field studies, the association made inequalities in access to menstrual products, hygiene, and information visible. The work of Eskitaşçıoğlu and the association enabled women and youth to actively participate in decision-making regarding their bodies and recognized period poverty as a political issue. In this way, the initiative has become an inspiring model for giving voice to the unspoken.

23. Frankeştayn Bookstore, Ayşe Tümerkan

After her legal career, Ayşe Tümerkan opened the Frankeştayn Bookstore in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, in 2022, establishing a distinguished space for gender, queer, and feminist literature. With this initiative, she pioneered independent bookselling culture in Turkey. The bookstore focuses on culture and feminist publishing, showcasing women’s studies, queer literature, and works from independent publishers, embracing the role of “the bookstore of the others.” Tümerkan stated, “We are not affiliated with any capital group to preserve independence,” offering an alternative model in publishing and bookselling. This project created a space for reading, meetings, and cultural activism in the city center, inspiring the practical engagement of feminist and queer movements. The bookstore facilitates access to literature for women and LGBTIQ+ individuals while strengthening local solidarity networks.

24. Çatlak Zemin Feminist Digital Platform (Turkey)

Founded in 2016, Çatlak Zemin is an independent digital platform in Turkey that makes the plural forms of feminist discourse visible. With a broad roster of contributors, from academics to activists, writers, students, and members of feminist organizations, the platform publishes writings on gender, sexuality, politics, art, and law. Aiming to “create a space where differences in feminism can be discussed together,” it keeps feminist debate alive through news, analysis, interviews, and translations. Çatlak Zemin strengthens women’s collective production in digital spaces, establishing a new feminist media model and becoming an inspiring example of independent feminist knowledge both nationally and internationally.

25. Feminist Imagination Journal (Turkey)

Based in Ankara, Feminist Imagination Journal is an open-access academic publisher releasing two issues per year. The journal embraces interdisciplinary approaches combining gender, feminism, and queer studies, bringing together young researchers from across Turkey. Editors include Emine Erdoğan and Demet Gülçiçek. Through peer-reviewed articles, interviews, special issues, and conference events, the journal supports feminist production and academic publication. This platform has created an independent space for work in women’s, LGBT+, and gender studies, contributing to the dissemination of feminist knowledge from local to university levels and serving as an inspiration both inside and outside academia.

26. Parrhesia Armenian Feminist Collective: Aylin Vartanyan (Turkey)

The Parrhesia Collective is an independent group producing work in feminist memory and freedom of expression. Named after the ancient Greek concept parrhesia, meaning “to speak the truth courageously,” the collective aims to generate feminist discourse at the intersection of patriarchy, nationalism, and memory. Co-founder, writer, and academic Aylin Vartanyan contributes uniquely to feminist debates in Turkey through her articles in Agos newspaper and the collective’s website. The Parrhesia Collective addresses Armenian women’s experiences, historical traumas, and identity negotiations from a feminist perspective. Through memory studies, oral history projects, and art-based events, the collective brings both women’s and minority memory into public visibility.

27. Nehna Cultural Heritage and Memory Collective (Turkey)

Nehna (“we” in Arabic) is a cultural heritage and memory collective based in Antakya. The team, including Anna Maria Beylunioğlu, Evlin Hüseyinoğlu, and Şule Can, documents the region’s multicultural structure, women’s history, and minority community experiences. The collective highlights the Arab Christian, Armenian, and Jewish heritage of Samandağ and Antakya. Nehna’s oral history projects record local women’s stories, religious rituals, and daily practices. Following the Antakya earthquake, their memory projects and online series became efforts to preserve cultural memory at risk of disappearing. The collective also investigates women’s roles in cultural production and shares this knowledge on public platforms.

28. Roots & Shoots Turkey

Roots & Shoots Turkey is part of the global network of the Jane Goodall Institute and aims to reconnect youth with nature. Led by Aslıhan Niksarlı and Burcu Meltem Arık, the initiative focuses on strengthening young women’s environmental awareness, sustainable living, and leadership skills. Through educational programs and local ecological projects, the association teaches children and youth about the ethical, scientific, and social dimensions of environmental protection. In 2024, Jane Goodall’s visit to Turkey brought large audiences together, and Roots & Shoots Turkey inspired the environmental movement through events themed around “hope, action, and solidarity.” Activities encouraged both environmental advocacy and the active engagement of young women in addressing the climate crisis.

29. Women of the Hrant Dink Foundation: Rakel Dink, Delal Dink, Nayat Karaköse, and Zeynep Taşkın (Turkey)

The Hrant Dink Foundation is recognized for its pioneering work in freedom of expression, memory studies, and social peace in Turkey, as well as projects addressing gender equality intersectionally. Among the foundation’s leaders and staff, Rakel Dink, Delal Dink, Nayat Karaköse, and Zeynep Taşkın have demonstrated how feminist perspectives can be embedded into institutional structures through both women’s and minority identities. The foundation has conducted research supporting the rights of women, LGBT+ individuals, and minority groups through projects such as Gender, Media, and Hate Speech, Living with Differences, and Confrontation and Dialogue. Nayat Karaköse’s initiatives particularly emphasize the importance of considering cultural diversity alongside gender justice. Rakel Dink’s long-standing advocacy for peace and justice has shaped the foundation’s direction.

30. Istanbul Gender Museum (Turkey)

The Istanbul Gender Museum was developed under the leadership of sociologist Meral Akkent, founder of Turkey’s first women’s museum, with feminist researchers such as Handan Çağlayan and Nazan Haydari. The museum combines women’s history with intersecting areas including the LGBT+ movement, labor struggles, and ecological activism, reconstructing gender memory in a multi-voiced framework. With an inclusive, intersectional, and participatoryapproach, the museum transforms feminist memory work into museum practice in Turkey. It conducts digital exhibitions, workshops, and field research spanning women’s trade unionism to queer art. Recent projects, such as Our Advocacy Diaries, feature exhibitions and a handbook designed by young feminists aged 18–25, making the voices of a new generation visible.

31. LGBT+ Activist Yıldız Tar (Turkey)

Yıldız Tar began her journalism career in 2013 and, since 2014, has worked as a reporter, editor, and managing editor at Kaos GL, Turkey’s LGBT+ online newspaper. Through oral history projects such as Yoldaş Ben İbneyim and Patikalar: Resmî Tarihe Çentik, she uncovered previously invisible layers of the LGBT+ movement. Tar’s work challenges media inequalities in LGBT+ rights, participates in trials testing freedom of expression (including proceedings at the 21st High Criminal Court), and aims to strengthen the movement’s collective memory. In this capacity, Yıldız Tar has become an inspiration for information production and visibility within Turkey’s LGBT+ movement.

32. ÜniKuir Association (Turkey)

Founded on February 14, 2020, in Turkey, the ÜniKuir Association supports young LGBT+ student communities and campus activism. The association develops self-organization and solidarity mechanisms to defend student rights and combat discrimination. Its mission is to empower university and young LGBT+ students to organize safely and inclusively on campuses and in cities. This effort seeks to break isolation, increase visibility, and strengthen youth participation in activism. ÜniKuir has become an inspiring model for Turkey’s young movement as an advocate for LGBT+ rights in both academic and social spaces.

33. Gola Association (Rize, Turkey)

Based in Fındıklı, Rize, Gola Association is an ecological organization dedicated to protecting the Black Sea’s natural environment, cultural heritage, and biodiversity. Led by women such as Refika Kadıoğlu and Özlem Şendeniz, the association integrates environmental protection with feminism, highlighting the gender dimension of ecological struggle. Gola is known for resisting hydropower projects alongside local communities and promoting women’s active participation in environmental activism. The association treats nature not only as a space to protect but as a cultural and political element of life. Workshops, training, and field projects demonstrate that women can lead in nature conservation and sustainable development, while local art, language, and crafts are integrated with ecological memory initiatives.

34. Gökçeyazı Türkmen Mountain Environmental Protection and Solidarity Association (Balıkesir, Turkey)

Established to protect the natural areas around Türkmen Mountain and Gökçeyazı Village in Balıkesir, the Gökçeyazı Türkmen Mountain Environmental Protection and Solidarity Association gained prominence for its determined ecological resistance against gold mining projects. Local residents, especially women, organized under the slogan “No to Cyanide Exploitation” to defend environmental integrity and preserve their living spaces. The association, together with TEMA Foundation and villagers, successfully challenged CVK Mining Inc.’s Gold-Copper Mine Expansion, Ore Enrichment, and Waste Storage Facility project, overturning the Environmental Impact Assessment approval. Led by women, this struggle exemplifies not only an environmental campaign but also a collective defense of the right to life and ecological justice.

35. Private Sector Teachers’ Union (Turkey)

The Private Sector Teachers’ Union is an independent labor organization that enables teachers in private schools to organize against systematic problems such as low wages, job insecurity, and workplace bullying. The union advocates for the profession’s dignity, improved working conditions, and educational equity. Since 2024, it has strengthened grassroots organization through mass demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul, legally and publicly challenging private school owners’ low-wage policies and anti-union practices. Additionally, the union has published comprehensive reports on teachers’ social security, leave, and salary rights.

36. Rümeysa Çamdereli, Women’s Jam Initiative (Turkey)

Rümeysa Çamdereli, founder of Havle Women’s Association, musician in the Kardeş Türküler group, and writer for Reçel Blog, combines feminist solidarity with music and cultural production. The Women’s Jam Initiative provides safe spaces for women and LGBT+ musicians to create and express themselves freely through improvisation and jam sessions. Open gatherings and jam sessions are held in various cities across Turkey, transforming music into a tool for resistance and healing. Çamdereli and her team use music as a platform for collective production and liberation, offering a feminist alternative to the male-dominated music world

37. Zeynep Sönmez, National Tennis Player (Turkey)

Born in 2002, Zeynep Sönmez is one of Turkey’s rising stars in women’s tennis. She brought her sport to the professional arena at a young age and quickly climbed the WTA rankings. In 2024, she made history for Turkish women’s tennis by winning the WTA 250 Merida Open Akron tournament in Mexico. Sönmez has become a role model for young athletes through her discipline and determination.

38. Hülya Tomak, Social Entrepreneur (Turkey)

Hülya Tomak, a woman leader with a background in biotechnology, founded Blueit, a social tech initiative that digitizes water consumption in indoor spaces using data-driven and AI-supported solutions. Having secured investment and pursued growth, she stands out as one of Turkey’s leading women tech entrepreneurs.

39. María Susana Muhamad González (Colombia)

González is a Colombian politician of Palestinian descent. In 2012, she was appointed Bogotá’s Secretary of Environment. A year later, she became Secretary General of the Mayor’s Office. In 2019, she was elected to the Bogotá City Council and later served as Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development. Muhamad is recognized nationally and internationally as an environmental activist. Her advocacy focuses on positioning Colombia as a “global force for life,” promoting compliance with international climate and biodiversity agreements, protecting environmental defenders, and combating deforestation in the Amazon region.

40. Dr. Özge Akbulut (Turkey)

Dr. Özge Akbulut has been a faculty member at Sabancı University since 2012, specializing in materials science, engineering, and social impact entrepreneurship. After completing her undergraduate degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Sabancı University, she earned her PhD at MIT in 2009, focusing on low-cost biomolecular devices and surface science. Between 2009–2011, she conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University, developing tools and techniques suitable for resource-limited environments. Akbulut’s research centers on additive/subtractive manufacturing of silicon-based composites and ceramics. In 2014, she founded Surgitate, creating realistic tissue models for gynecological surgery training, now used worldwide. Additionally, through the Çaresi Var project, she developed accessible educational materials to raise breast cancer awareness and promote early detection, helping thousands of women understand their bodies. Since 2023, she has served as Chief Science Officer at Fark Labs, combining academic expertise with technology, entrepreneurship, and social impact, becoming a leading example of women’s leadership in science.

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