Mahrang Baloch, Hadiqa Kiani Make it to the BBC’s 100 Women 2024 List
Women are unstoppable, and the BBC 100 Women 2024 list proves just that.
The British publication’s list features 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world and “acknowledges the toll this year has taken on women by celebrating those who — through their resilience — are pushing for change, as the world changes around them.”
This year, two women from Pakistan were mentioned on the list — Baloch rights activist Mahrang Baloch and singer Hadiqa Kiani.
Here are some of the most remarkable women named in the list, and their contributions and acts of resilience.
Mahrang Baloch (Pakistan)
Mahrang Baloch is the face of peaceful protests against the enforced disappearances in Balochistan. According to the BBC “in late 2023, Baloch led hundreds of women on a 1,600-kilometre march to the capital Islamabad to demand information on the whereabouts of their family members. She was arrested twice during the journey.”
Her own father was “allegedly taken by security service officers in 2009 and found dead two years later with signs of torture.”
The doctor has become a prominent activist, under the banner of her human rights group Baloch Yakjehti Committee.
Hadiqa Kiani (Pakistan)
An iconic singer, Hadiqa Kiani was named on the list for her contributions to humanitarian causes, particularly for her response to the 2022 floods in Pakistan.
Kiani launched Vaseela-e-Raah, which is dedicated to aiding victims in the Balochistan and South Punjab regions.
“She urged the public to assist displaced families and last year, the project announced it had built 370 homes and other facilities in the affected areas.”
Yasmeen Mjalli (Palestine)
Fashion designer Yasmeen Mjalli grew up in the American South, and then relocated to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, where she launched her brand Nöl Collective in 2020.
Mjalli uses her creations to stories about Palestinians and her garments are inspired by Palestinian life and traditions.
“Her fashion label works with family-run sewing workshops, local spice shops that provide natural dye agents, and women’s co-operatives to produce garments collectively. The tailors, weavers, embroiderers and carvers use traditional techniques, paying homage to the Palestinian craft of creating fabrics.”
Hamida Aman (Afghanistan)
Media entrepreneur Hamida Aman launched the Begum Academy, an online space with free multimedia courses for students who can’t attend school after the Taliban regime in Afghanistan barred girls from receiving an education.
“In the last year, the educational platform has provided more than 8,500 videos in Dari and Pashto, covering school curricula for grades seven to 12. In March, Aman launched Begum TV, an educational channel broadcasting Begum Academy courses via satellite.”
Christina Assi (Lebanon )
In October 2023, Lebanese photojournalist Christina Assi was severely injured in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon while reporting. “The blast killed fellow journalist Issam Abdallah, five other colleagues were wounded and Assi would later have a leg amputated.”
The traumatic experience led to Assi campaigning for journalists’ safety, and she dedicated her participation in the 2024 Olympic torch relay in Paris to all the journalists who have died in the line of duty.
Hinda Abdi Mohamoud (Somalia)
Somalian journalist Hinda Abdi Mahamoud is the chief editor of Bilan, the country’s first and only all-women media team.
“The team was formed to combat the high rates of sexism and harassment which Somali women face in the workplace — challenges recognized in a recent UN report.
“Bilan aims to shine a light on social issues in one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, covering stories such as Somalis living in hiding with HIV, abused orphans, and people with albinism shunned by their communities.”
Shahrnush Parsipur (Iran/US)
Prominent Iranian novelist Shahrnush Parsipur has written about taboo issues in her work, such as women’s sexual oppression and rebellion in a patriarchal society.
She resigned from her position as a writer and producer on the Iranian National Television and Radio following the execution of two poet activists before the revolution of 1979. This led to her first imprisonment.
“Since the revolution, her work has been banned extensively in Iran and Parsipur was imprisoned again for openly referring to issues around virginity in her novel Women Without Men. This was later adapted into a feature film outside Iran.
“Parsipur has recounted her experience of incarceration in her writing, and has lived in exile in the US since 1994.”
Pooja Sharma (India)
Pooja Sharma, a funerary rites performer from India, has performed the last rites for unclaimed dead bodies in Delhi.
Her own brother was killed and nobody helped with his funeral, causing Sharma to perform his last rites. Throughout her journey, she faced resistance from Hindu priests because performers of funerary rites are typically men in the religion.
“Despite the backlash, she has performed funerary rites for more than 4,000 people from different faiths and religions, sharing her work on social media and championing the cause to give everyone the dignity they deserve in death.”
Zakia Khudadadi (Afghanistan)
Afghan athlete Zakia Khudadadi made history at the 2024 Paris Paralympics after winning the first-ever medal for the refugee team.
“The athlete, who was born without one forearm, began practicing taekwondo secretly at the age of 11 in a hidden gym in her hometown of Herat, in western Afghanistan. She was initially denied the opportunity to compete at her first Paralympics in Tokyo following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.”
However, the International Paralympic Committee intervened and Khudadadi was evacuated from Afghanistan and became the first Afghan woman to participate in an international sporting event following the Taliban takeover… - Images
