Honouring Courage, Education, and the Power of Women’s Voices in Afghanistan
Soroptimist International of Europe (SIE) is proud to announce that the 2025 SIE Peace Prize has been awarded to Hamida Aman, an Afghan entrepreneur, journalist, and founder of the Begum Organisation for Women (BOW). The award was presented during the SIE Congress in Krakow (Poland) on 25th October 2025 in front of an audience of Soroptimists from across Europe and beyond.
The SIE Peace Prize, awarded every four years, honours individuals or organisations that have made exceptional contributions to the promotion of peace. The previous edition, scheduled for 2021, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the last celebration took place in 2017, making this year’s award particularly anticipated, a long-awaited return to celebrating outstanding women peacebuilders!
Hamida Aman was supported by the Soroptimist Club of Deauville-Trouville (France) for her remarkable commitment to Afghan women and girls through her media network Radio Begum, Begum Academy, and Begum TV, giving them a voice, an education, and a sense of hope in a country where women have been silenced and excluded from public life.
A Voice of Resistance and Hope
Born in Kabul in 1973, Hamida Aman grew up in exile in Switzerland before returning to Afghanistan after 9/11 to support reconstruction efforts. In 2002, she founded Awaz Communication, a production company promoting civic participation and the inclusion of women in media.
In March 2021, just months before the Taliban’s return to power, she launched Radio Begum a pioneering radio station created by women, for women, broadcasting educational, cultural, and psychological support programmes from Kabul and Paris. Despite immense risks, a team of 30 Afghan women continues to produce and broadcast content, providing a vital lifeline to listeners across the country.
Building on this mission, Hamida Aman created Begum Academy in 2023, a digital learning platform offering free audio and video lessons to girls banned from formal education and Begum TV in 2024, an online channel promoting education, health, and civic engagement through inspiring documentaries and women’s stories.
Hamida Amman and members of SI Club Deauville-Trouville (France)
Her Reflections on Receiving the Peace Prize
When asked about receiving the SIE Peace Prize 2025, Hamida Aman shared:
“Receiving the SIE Peace Prize 2025 is deeply moving, not only for me, but for all the women of Radio Begum, Begum Academy, and Begum TV who continue to work with courage and dignity despite the challenges they face every day.”
She also sent a heartfelt message to Soroptimists around the world:
“Your solidarity reminds us that we are never alone in our fight for peace and justice. Each act of support, each voice that joins ours, gives Afghan women strength to continue believing in a better future.”
Celebrating Courage and Peacebuilding
Through her work, Hamida Aman embodies the spirit of the SIE Peace Prize: courage, solidarity, and an unyielding belief in the power of women to bring about peace through education and dialogue.
The Jury, chaired by Carolien Demey, SIE Immediate Past President, included a distinguished panel of international experts:
- Phoebe Okowa, Professor of Public International Law, Member of the UN International Law Commission, former Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and candidate for the International Court of Justice.
- Silvana Arbia, recipient of the 5th SIE Peace Prize (Berlin, 2013), recognised for prosecuting perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide at the UN International Criminal Tribunal.
- Nicole Ameline, Member of the Advisory Committee of the UN Human Rights Council and former Chair of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Defence and Security Committee.
- Michael Møller, former UN Under-Secretary-General and Board Member of the Kofi Annan Foundation.
A Legacy of Visionary Women
Since its creation, the SIE Peace Prize has honoured exceptional figures such as Gégé Katana Bukuru, the last laureate of the 2017 Prize, recognised for her lifelong commitment to defending women’s rights in war-torn regions of Africa.
By awarding the 2025 Peace Prize to Hamida Aman, we celebrate a woman whose work transcends borders and oppression; a woman who transforms resistance into education, and silence into voice.
Bintou Koïta
Senior Programme Officer (SIE HQ)