The 2025 Vigdís Prize for Women’s Empowerment has been awarded to the Women of the Sun organisation from Palestine*, which seeks to create pathways and opportunities for Palestinian women to enter fields traditionally dominated by men, including in politics, business and technology.
The 60,000-euro annual prize, awarded jointly by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Government of Iceland, honours outstanding initiatives to promote the empowerment of women in all their diversity, in Europe and beyond. It is named after Iceland’s former President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, the first woman in the world to be elected as a head of state.
Women of the Sun, founded by Reem al-Hajajreh in 2021, runs programmes which, among other things, promote access to quality education for girls, encourage women to take on leadership roles, support women entrepreneurs and create cultural opportunities for women. It also brings Palestinian and Israeli women together in a joint effort for peace.
Accepting the award at a ceremony in Strasbourg, on the opening day of PACE’s summer plenary session, Ms al-Hajajreh said: “I stand before you today carrying this recognition with both pride and humility — not in my name alone, but on behalf of the thousands of Palestinian women who continue to raise their voices despite all challenges, declaring: we will not wait for our turn, we will create it.”
The Prize was “a tribute to every Palestinian woman who has resisted marginalisation and insisted on becoming a leader in her community. I have seen women transform pain into power, exclusion into initiative, and silence into a strong voice demanding rights,” she added.
PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos, who chaired the selection panel, congratulated Ms al-Hajajreh and presented her with a cheque for €60,000, a diploma and the Prize trophy, a sculpture made from Icelandic volcanic magma named Kvika. “The Women of the Sun have also led initiatives that bring Palestinian and Israeli women together, fostering dialogue, and indeed one of the sponsors for proposing their candidacy was precisely their sister organisation in Israel, Women Wage Peace,” he said. “I believe this is proof that when women sit together, they do not speak of war, but rather of solutions, dignity and a better future for their children.”
Auður Edda Jökulsdóttir, Special Envoy for Gender Equality at Iceland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, said: “The Vigdís Prize honours those who empower women and girls – and reminds us that their struggle is our collective duty. On behalf of my government, the first in our history led by three female leaders, I offer all nominees heartfelt congratulations. In times of backlash, we must remain steadfast in our fight for gender equality.”
There were two runners-up for the 2025 Prize, the Green Girls Foundation from Cameroon, which uses AI to empower women and girls in African rural communities with clean energy solutions for electricity and cooking, and Gisèle Pelicot from France, who became a model of courage and a powerful advocate against violence towards women after waiving her anonymity during the trials of her husband and other men for covertly drugging and raping her. Some 111 nominations from around the world were considered by the six-member selection panel.
The Prize was launched in Reykjavik in May 2023 in the presence of Vigdís herself, who followed today’s ceremony from Reykjavik. The first edition of the Prize was awarded in 2024 to the Irida Women’s Center in Greece, a grassroots NGO which works for positive change in the lives of women experiencing poverty, social exclusion and gender-based violence.
* This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a state of Palestine and without prejudice to the individual positions of Council of Europe member states on this issue.
Video: the launch of the Prize in 2023
