Ayşe Seitmuratova was born on 11 February 1937 in the village of Adzhi-Eli. In 1944, while her father was at the front, she and her family were deported to Uzbekistan.

There she received a degree in history and worked as a teacher, but repeatedly faced discrimination because of her nationality. In 1964, Ayşe joined the Crimean Tatar national movement, became a member of the initiative group in the Samarkand region, took part in meetings with the Soviet leadership, and advocated for her people’s right to return to Crimea.

In 1966, she was arrested for her civic activism, and in 1971 she was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, which she served in labour camps in Mordovia.

Despite arrests and persecution, she continued her human rights work and faced the threat of forced psychiatric treatment. Thanks to the intervention of international human rights defenders, including US Senator Jacob Javits, she was granted permission to leave and emigrated to the United States.

In the US, Ayşe became a prominent voice of the Crimean Tatar people, working in the media with outlets such as Voice of America, BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Deutsche Welle, raising global awareness about the situation of Crimean Tatars.

She also participated in international conferences and addressed political institutions in various countries, including the parliaments of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Türkiye, and Italy, as well as the US Congress. She was twice received at the White House at the invitation of President Ronald Reagan — becoming the first Muslim woman invited for such an audience.

After returning to Crimea in the early 1990s, Ayşe devoted herself to community and charitable work, supporting children and young people. From 2014 onwards, she openly opposed the temporary occupation of the peninsula and faced pressure from Russian security forces. In 2014, she was accused of allegedly “violating legislation”, and in 2019 she was detained at the administrative boundary while attempting to travel to mainland Ukraine.

“I was born in Crimea — it is my homeland, not Putin’s homeland. I was deprived of my homeland all my life. That will not happen again.”

Ayşe Seitmuratova passed away on 1 June 2025 at the age of 88, leaving a legacy of resilience and unwavering dedication to her people.