European Women Mayors News

Women Mayors from Europe

> British Supreme Court issues transgender ruling

> Budapest Mayor assures Pride

> Russian missiles kill 32

> Spain to restrict holiday rentals

London’s Newham Council flies the transgender flag on International Transgender Day. Britain’s Supreme Court, where judges defined who is a woman under the law

BRITAIN

Britain’s Supreme Court has narrowed the definition of who is a woman under the law

April 2025: Britain’s Supreme Court ruled on 16 April 2025 that only ‘biological’ women and not trans women meet the definition of a woman under equality laws. The three judges did so unanimously but without defining the term ‘biological’. A biological woman is generally understood to be a person born with female reproductive organs. However, many in the trans community argue that this definition is too narrow and does not take into account a person’s psychological state.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, authorities in Britain will now be allowed to exclude trans women from single-sex services for women, such as refuges, hospital wards, and sports. Transgender campaigners now believe that the decision could lead to discrimination, especially over employment issues.

The judgment follows legal action by the campaign group, For Women Scotland (FWS), against guidance issued by the Scottish government that said a trans woman with a gender recognition certificate (GRC)* was legally a woman. FWS lost its case in the Scottish courts, but the Supreme Court has now ruled in its favour.

While the British Court warned against using its ruling “as a triumph for one or more groups in our society at the expense of another”, members of FWS were jubilant, saying that “the judges have said what we always believed to be the case: that women are protected by their biological sex, that sex is real and that women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women.”

Not just in Britain, transgender rights have become a political issue. In the US, legal challenges have mushroomed since President Trump issued an executive order barring transgender people from military service.

Globally, transgender rights vary significantly from country to country. They range from legal recognition of gender identity and protection against discrimination to criminalisation and even death penalties in some cases. Some countries have made considerable strides in protecting transgender rights, while others continue to lag, highlighting the global disparity in legal and social acceptance.

* The GRC is a formal document giving legal recognition of someone's new gender

HUNGARY

Budapest Mayor assures LGBT community that this year’s Pride will take place

April 2025: In 1997, Hungary was the first former Eastern Bloc country to hold a Pride festival and march in Budapest. It has been an annual event ever since, celebrating diversity and harmony between the country’s LGBT community and the wider population. Now, the authoritarian government of Prime Minister Victor Orbán and his right-wing Fidesz party passed a constitutional amendment in parliament that would allow the government to ban LGBT events, including this year’s Pride march scheduled for 28 June.

Government supporters declared that the amendment was necessary to “protect children’s rights to moral, physical and spiritual development.” Hungary’s controversial ‘child protection law’ prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors aged under 18.

Opposition lawmakers accused the Prime Minister’s Fidesz party of hiding behind children to promote their right-wing agenda. “Fidesz acted disgracefully and cowardly.”

The amendment codifies a law that was passed by parliament in March 2025 that bans public events held by LGBT communities. That law also allows authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify people who attend prohibited events.

Outside parliament, the most outspoken opponent of Victor Orbán is Budapest’s Mayor Gergely Karácsony, In a defiant statement, he assured the organisers of this year’s Pride that the festival and parade will take place. “It may even be bigger than ever before.”

Gergely Karácsony sees the government's narrative of banning Pride as a smear campaign triggered by what he says are mounting problems in the country. “In Budapest, we know that when everyone is treated equally, when everyone's human dignity, faith, religion, beliefs and orientation are respected, then we can talk about freedom.”

The European Union (EU) also condemned the legislative changes in Hungary. Speaking in the European Parliament on “Recent legislative changes in Hungary and their impact on fundamental rights”, the EU Commissioner for the Rule of Law, Michael McGrath, said there was no room for discrimination in the European Union. He was referring to the amendment of the assembly law, effectively banning the Pride parade in Budapest.

UKRAINE

Russian missiles killed 32 people, including children, on Palm Sunday

13 April 2025: A Russian ballistic missile strike on the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least 32 people on Palm Sunday morning (13 April). Writing on Telegram, Mayor Artem Kobzar said, "The enemy struck the civilian population again," Ukraine's State Emergency Service added that at least 32 people -- including two children -- were confirmed killed, with 84 others injured. Two missiles struck the centre of the city, authorities said. The Sumy City Council said the strike hit multiple buildings, including residential ones. "On this bright day of Palm Sunday, our community suffered a tragedy," Kobzar wrote.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said the missiles used cluster munitions, which spray smaller sub-munitions over the target area. "A cluster munition missile is something the Russians do to kill as many civilians as possible," Yermak wrote on Telegram. "The strike on the city of Sumy is a deliberate shelling of civilians."

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram that the "terrible strike" hit "an ordinary city street, ordinary life: houses, educational institutions, cars on the street." "And this is on a day when people go to church: Palm Sunday, the feast of the lord's entry into Jerusalem," he added. "Only a scoundrel can act like this. Taking the lives of ordinary people. My condolences to the relatives and friends. A rescue operation is underway now. All necessary services are working." "A tough reaction from the world is needed," Zelenskyy wrote. "The United States, Europe, everyone in the world who wants an end to this war and murders. Russia wants exactly this kind of terror and is dragging out this war. Without pressure on the aggressor, peace is impossible." (Sources: Sumi City Council; Ukraine Ermergency Services)

SPAIN

Spaniards protested in their hundreds of thousands against holiday rentals, but new restrictions are on their way

April 2025: Last weekend (5/6 April), hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of 40 Spanish cities to protest against skyrocketing housing costs and the proliferation of homes converted to short-term holiday rentals for internet platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com. Protest organisers have accused property owners and the government of turning housing into a ‘business model’. But as of 1 July 2025, new regulations will come into force, which, among other restrictions, require landlords and online platforms to obtain short-term rental licenses from local authorities.

According to Spanish tenants' associations, the country’s housing situation has reached critical levels, with long-term rents reported to have increased by more than 18 per cent in the last two years. In some tourist areas, such as Ibiza, rental prices now exceed 100 per cent of average salaries, while in others, such as in the city of Cáceres, rents rose last year by 17 per cent.

Across the country, rents have doubled in the last ten years while salaries only rose by 20 per cent. Spain's Central Bank recently reported that almost half of renters spend around 40 per cent of their total income on housing. According to the Spanish government, at least 600,000 more apartments are needed to address the situation, which it describes as ‘a social emergency’.

In January 2025, Spain became the first country in the European Union (EU) to implement new regulations governing short-term rentals. These regulations are aimed at creating a more transparent and organised framework for short-term accommodation offerings, ensuring both property owners and online rental providers adhere to the rules set forth. A centralised digital platform will collect and manage this data, making it easier for the government to track short-term rental activity. The new regulations apply to all types of short-term accommodation that involve payments.

Online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and others will also be required to comply with these regulations. They must ensure that only registered properties are listed on their platforms. At the beginning of 2025, Spain had some 450,000 active Airbnb listings.

TURKEY / ISTANBUL

Istanbul city council elects Imamoglu confidant as interim mayor

March 2025: Following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the CHP-led city council elected an interim mayor on Wednesday. CHP candidate Nuri Aslan stood against Zeynel Abidin Okul, a candidate supported by the Turkish President’s AKP party. Both Ekrem Imamoglu and Nuri Aslan are members of the centre-left CHP party.

After three rounds of voting, the 314-member council elected the CHP's Aslan with 177 votes. The AKP's Okul received 125 votes. Istanbul's parliament hopes that this step will avert the danger of forced administration.

The 56-year-old Nuri Aslan will temporarily replace the imprisoned Ekrem Imamoglu as mayor while he is in prison and therefore unable to carry out his duties at City Hall. The two CHP politicians have been close friends for many years and worked together before Imamoglu became mayor.

Further reading: German mayors support Ekrem İmamoglu

TURKEY / ISTANBUL

Turkey’s opposition party overwhelmingly votes for Istanbul Mayor as its presidential candidate

March 2025; Turkey's largest opposition party, the CHP, has officially chosen Ekrem İmamoglu as its candidate for the 2028 presidential election. The 53-year-old is in custody on politically motivated corruption charges and was suspended as mayor of Istanbul.

All of the approximately 1.7 million CHP members in all 81 provinces of Turkey were able to vote. Of these, around 1.6 million voted for İmamoglu as a candidate, as party leader Özgür Özel told participants at a demonstration for the politician who is in custody.İmamoglu was the only candidate put forward by the CHP in the primary election.

However, non-party members were also called upon to vote for İmamoglu via solidarity ballot boxes. According to information from Istanbul City Hall, a total of around 15 million people took part in the vote. A total of 13.2 million people expressed their solidarity with İmamoglu. Özel also spoke of around 13 million symbolic votes for İmamoğlu - after counting just over half of all the ballots cast via the solidarity ballot boxes. Turkey has a population of around 85.6 million.

Further reading: German mayors support Ekrem İmamoglu

TURKEY / ISTANBUL

Europe condemns the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor. Street protests continue

March 2025: Despite international condemnation and overnight street protests, Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu remains in police custody (20 March 2025). Imamoglu is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, and his detention came just days before the centre-left CHP party was expected to name him as its candidate for the 2028 presidential election.

The largest opposition party CHP spoke of a “coup attempt against the country’s next president”. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the arrest as “extremely worrying”. She warned that Turkey, as a member of the Council of Europe and EU accession candidate, must respect democratic values and, in particular, the rights of elected officials. The German government also criticised the arrest and spoke of a “serious setback for democracy in the country on the Bosporus”.

Protests against the arrest took place in Turkey on the night of Wednesday to Thursday (19/20 March). Despite a ban, thousands of people gathered in front of the city administration in Istanbul amid a large police presence, according to the German Press Agency (DPA). The crowd called on Erdoğan to resign and accused him of trying to eliminate his biggest rival by arresting him. According to the media, there were riots and arrests on the fringes of the protests.

Imamoğlu is seen as potentially the most promising challenger to Erdoğan in the presidential election scheduled for 2028. The crackdown on the mayor marks a new high point in the persecution of opposition figures that has been ongoing for months. The government rejected any political connection.

TURKEY / ISTANBUL

In a political crackdown, Turkish police arrest the popular Mayor of Istanbul

March 2025: In what political observers describe as a coup against the democratically elected Mayor of Istanbul, Turkish police, with the backing of the government, arrested Ekrem Imamoglu early in the morning of Wednesday, 19 March 2025. According to Turkish and foreign journalists based in Istanbul, the police also arrested dozens of the Mayor’s supporters. Without providing any details, Turkey’s public prosecutor's office accused the Mayor of corruption. The news agency Anadolu reported that the charges related to activities in connection with tenders issued by the city administration.

On its website, the news agency Reuters reported that the move against Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was called "a coup attempt" by the opposition and appears to cap an aggressive months-long legal crackdown on opposition figures across the country which has been condemned as a politicised attempt to silence dissent.

Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Turkey's largest city, is the most popular and outspoken opponent of President Recep Erdogan. Twice, he won the mayorship of Istanbul against candidates from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), and if presidential elections were to be held today, polls say the Imamoglu would defeat President Erdogan. The Mayor appeals to both moderate conservative and secular Turks. Before his arrest, the social democratic Republican People's Party (CHP) had planned to confirm Imamoglu as its candidate for the next presidential election.

A further investigation is also underway. Imamoglu and six other people are suspected of supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the public prosecutor's office said in its statement. The background to this is cooperation between the social democratic CHP and the pro-Kurdish DEM party in the local elections. The two parties had worked together to win the majority in municipalities. The Turkish government sees the DEM as a political arm of the banned PKK. The party vehemently denies this.

The leader of the CHP party, Özgür Özel, spoke of a coup attempt and a decisive moment for the future of Turkish democracy. The CHP is the largest opposition party in Turkey. The people should be prevented from choosing the next president themselves. He called on the 1.7 million party members to take part in the CHP's internal top candidate election on Sunday despite the arrest.

Hours after the Mayor, the Istanbul Provincial Governor's Office imposed a four-day ban on demonstrations, gatherings and news until Sunday. Selected streets in the city centre will be closed, and several railway stations are to be closed. The measures were justified on the grounds of maintaining public order. The apparent aim is to prevent protests.

Ankara’s Mayor Mansur Yavas announced he was suspending consideration of his presidential candidacy in a show of solidarity with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. “I am announcing to the public that I am suspending my decision to ‘evaluate my presidential candidacy.”