BBC 100 Women 2020: Nani yuko kwenye orodha hiyo mwaka huu?

During the pandemic, Rina and her team of helpers have served around 400 meals a week - including rice, vegetables, eggs and meat - to sex workers in Dhaka who have found themselves without clients, and are thus struggling to feed themselves.

> People see our profession as demeaning, but we do it to buy food. I am trying to make sure women in this profession are not left hungry, and their children will not have to do this work.

Her Excellency Sarah Al-Amiri is UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technologies and chairs the UAE Space Agency. She was previously science lead and deputy project manager for the Emirates Mars Mission.

The Emirates Mars Mission will be the first interplanetary venture of any Arab nation. The orbiter, known as Hope (or Amal in Arabic), is expected to land at the red planet in February 2021 and collect data on, for example, its climate and weather.

> The virus has required the world to go into an absolute stillness, in which we reflect and grow as individuals. We need to make a collective effort to continue growing, and to ensure the sustainability of our fragile world.

Adriana Albini is head of the vascular biology and angiogenesis laboratory of IRCCS MultiMedica, and of the MultiMedica Foundation; professor of general pathology at the University of Milan-Bicocca and a former visiting scientist at the US National Institutes of Health.

She is the first Italian elected to the American Association for Cancer Research’s board of directors. As president of the Top Italian Women Scientists’ Club at the National Observatory Foundation on Women's Health, she is engaged in the promotion of female researchers.

She is also a fencing champion, winning bronze at the 2018 Veterans World Cup and silver at the 2015 European Veterans Fencing competition.

> Researchers start their career by following a path; scientists build a path where the paved road seems to finish. Women scientists, with their multitasking nature, must find new paths where nobody is looking.

Nisreen is a public health doctor and academic in the UK who researches the health and wellbeing of women and children, focusing on pregnancy.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she raised awareness of the need for countries to measure and address not only mortality, but also long-term ill health from the virus (including "long-Covid"). People with long-Covid report ongoing symptoms such as fatigue, headache and shortness of breath.

> During 2020, I did three things more: speak my mind, do what I fear and forgive myself. I also did three things less: care what others think of me, blame myself and believe I’m less than others.

Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu is an emeritus professor of nursing at the University of West London and a patron of the UK Sickle Cell Society.

She is a groundbreaking sickle-cell and thalassemia nurse who campaigned for a statue of British-Jamaican nurse Mary Seacole. She's been a key figure in highlighting the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities.

> Never underestimate the positive global contribution that you and so many other women are making.

Baroness Barran was appointed the UK’s Minister for Civil Society in 2019, and is responsible for policy related to the Office for Civil Society. She is the founder and former chief executive of SafeLives, a national charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse.

She is also the former head of grant development at the New Philanthropy Capital think tank, and worked in asset management before founding one of Europe’s first hedge funds in 1993.

Baroness Barran was a trustee at the Royal Foundation and Comic Relief, and chairwoman of the Henry Smith Charity. She received the Beacon Award for England in 2007 and was made an MBE in 2011 for her work addressing domestic violence.

> I think of the words of Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Macinley Butson began coming up with inventions when she was seven years old. Now 20, she has invented a range of devices, whose aims include improving outcomes for radiotherapy breast-cancer patients and providing safe drinking water for developing communities.

She has become an inspirational role model for young Australians, showing how they can give back to the community through science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

> Nothing defines our ability to create change. I implore every woman around the world to ask themselves, “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”

Fang Fang, whose real name is Wang Fang, is an award-winning Chinese author who has produced more than 100 works. This year, she began documenting events in Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged.

Her diary provided millions in China with a rare glimpse into the city, and she wrote about everything from the challenges of daily life to the physiological impact of forced isolation.

As the diary attracted more international recognition, with a translation into English, an online backlash against her reporting of events accelerated. Many in China were angered, and even branded her a traitor.

> Be your independent self.

When Afghanistan’s first case of Covid-19 was reported in her home province of Herat, Somaya and her all-female robotics team – the "Afghan Dreamers" – set to work on a low-cost ventilator to treat coronavirus patients.

Somaya and her team are planning to show their design to the Ministry of Public Health. If the prototype is approved, it could be used in remote hospitals.

Somaya, who was born in 2002, has won several awards, including a silver medal for Courageous Achievement at the FIRST Global Challenge - in recognition of science and technology - in the US; a Benefiting Humanity in AI award at World Summit AI; the Janet Ivey-Duensing's Permission to Dream Award at the Raw Science Film Festival; and the Entrepreneurship Challenge at Robotex in Estonia, Europe’s biggest robotics festival.

> The key to our future is what we are teaching our girls and boys today. We have to make sure every kid has the same access to education, and the tools to make their dream come true.

Lauren Gardner is an engineering professor at Johns Hopkins University, and co-director of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Gardner led the team that built the indispensable Covid-19 pandemic tracker that has become the authoritative source of Covid-19 case data. It is used by governments, infectious-disease researchers and media outlets around the world.

> Don’t wait for permission. Take your seat and take action.

Iman manages a group of 10 women who set up a solar microgrid, offering clean and low-impact energy, just 20 miles from the front line of the devastating Yemeni civil war.

The microgrid is one of three established by the United Nations Development Programme in off-grid areas of Yemen – and the only one run entirely by women. Initially, Iman’s team was mocked for doing men’s work. Since then, however, they have won the respect of their community – while also earning a sustainable income for themselves and developing new professional skills.

> My message to all girls in Yemen is to fulfil their dreams. They must strive with confidence and challenge all the difficulties they face in their lives to achieve those dreams.

The moment Chinese scientists published genetic details of the new coronavirus, Sarah and her team in Oxford set to work to create a Covid-19 vaccine. Trial results show 70% protection, but the researchers say the figure may be as high as 90% by tweaking the dose.

A scientist trained in microbiology, biochemistry, molecular virology and vaccinology, Sarah has been working to develop vaccines against emerging diseases since 2014.

> We can be resilient enough to get through this year. It’s a time to concentrate on what really matters: health, education and good relationships with others.

Rebeca Gyumi is the founder and executive director at the Msichana Initiative, a local NGO working to advance girls' rights. She is an advocate for gender equality, and has vast experience working on youth engagement and building women's movements,and providing advocacy at national and grassroots levels.

In 2019, the Msichana Initiative won a landmark ruling at the Court of Appeal in Tanzania, which banned child marriages by raising the minimum age to 18.

> When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Let's recommit to keep fighting, to continue with the journey; and to own our voices and the contribution we bring, until the gender-equality agenda is fulfilled.

Dr Jemimah Kariuki is deeply passionate about preventive medicine, especially in maternal and child health. She is the founder of the Peace Club, initiated in response to post-election violence in 2007, and the Public Health Club (which is instrumental in running cervical-cancer prevention drives).

As an obstetrics and gynaecology student, she noticed a sharp decline in maternal admissions, but a rise in complications, during the Covid-19 pandemic – especially during curfew.

Realising that access to health care was delayed by limited transport options, she came up with a solution - licensed vehicles, taking women from their homes to the hospital. This led to Wheels for Life - a free ambulance service.

> The pandemic has affected everyone; you are not alone. Nonetheless, that thought nagging you each day may be your calling: do not be afraid to respond. You may be the answer to someone else's need.

As a plant virologist, Dr Safaa Kumari looks for solutions to epidemics that destroy crops. After discovering seeds that could safeguard food security in Syria, she risked her life to rescue them from Aleppo.

She has spent years discovering virus-resistant plant varieties, including a faba bean that is resistant to the faba necrotic yellow virus (FBNYV).

> The world has changed a lot in 2020. Within a team tasked with overcoming such challenges, it is about ability – not gender. Women must believe that their contribution is equal to that of any man.

Ishtar is a feminist, activist and self-proclaimed “troublemaker”. She is based in South Africa, where she collaborates with social-justice organisations, movements and networks around the world, providing the support needed to strengthen their approaches to human rights-advocacy.

This year she has played a key part in the Free the Vaccine campaign, driven by the Center for Artistic Activism and Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM). She is working with others towards a single goal of making sure that a Covid-19 vaccine will be sustainably priced, available to all and free at the point of delivery.

> These moments of disruption are also an opportune time for us to grow a completely divergent future, rather than trying to fix a system that was never designed with our happiness in mind.

Lucy Monaghan waived her right to anonymity, to talk about how she was treated by police and prosecutors in Northern Ireland after reporting her alleged rape in 2015. Police initially told her that, as there was evidence she had been “flirting” with her alleged perpetrator, the case was unlikely to result in a conviction.

Lucy challenged the authorities in court over failures in their investigations, and as a result changes were made to how victims of sexual attacks are treated. Lucy now supports rape survivors, and in 2019 participated in the Judge Gillen review, which made more than 250 recommendations for changes to the law.

> They said I couldn’t do it. I did it anyway. And so can you.

Douce Namwezi N'Ibamba is a multimedia journalist and the founder of Uwezo Afrika Initiative, a non-profit venture promoting women's empowerment through journalism, job training and social entrepreneurship.

She fights taboos around menstruation by making sexual education and hygiene kits available to students and women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

> Let us be the generation of girls and women who navigate changes, who always find solutions to their daily problems, and who always say: nothing is impossible.

Dr Ethel Nakimuli-Mpungu, of Makerere University in Uganda, works towards making therapy more culturally appropriate, particularly for people living with HIV and depression.

She has developed a highly cost-effective group-therapy programme that can be delivered by lay health workers. It has also been shown to reduce symptoms of depression dramatically and improve adherence to antiviral medication among those affected.

> Make your mental health a priority and take your power back.

Vernetta Moberly is a wife, mother, grandmother and friend.

Over the years she has gathered information from her elders, and handed her knowledge and skills down to the next generation of the Iñupiaq community. Her passion is the fight to save Mother Earth.

> Mothers: take care of yourselves. Continue to tap into your ancestors' knowledge. We are all connected. We have the same instincts and passion to help our children grow. Even if there's turmoil, find a solution.

Dr Sania Nishtar is a leader in global health and sustainable development. Since 2018, she has been spearheading the transformative Ehsaas Poverty Alleviation programme, which has improved the livelihoods of millions of Pakistanis by providing mobile banking and savings accounts, and other basic resources.

As Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Sania has helped to empower the masses by taking the necessary first steps toward the development of a welfare state in Pakistan.

> The dramatic impact of Covid-19 presents us with a once-in-a-generation chance to build a fairer world and bring an end to poverty, inequality and the climate crisis. For this, women must be equal, empowered stakeholders.

In 2019, Lorna Prendergast made global headlines when she graduated from Melbourne University at the age of 90, with a master's degree in ageing. She dedicated her degree to her late husband, to whom she had been married for 64 years and who had suffered from dementia.

As a researcher, she has created a deeper understanding of dementia patients' needs, improving their quality of life and their relationship with carers.

> No matter your age, whether young or old, you can make a difference in the world.

Susana is a humanitarian worker who has spent 22 years assisting in emergencies around the world. She helped Cáritas de Venezuela to establish a tool that showed, in real time, the impact of the humanitarian crisis on children at a time when the crisis was being denied in Venezuela. Susana also founded a network of centres providing nutritional support for children living in slums.

In 2020 Susana worked on maintaining food services for low-income citizens, women with HIV and youth prisons during the pandemic. Working with the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, Susana also advised on bringing nutrition into the mainstream during national responses to the pandemic across Central America.

> Look after yourself first and start drawing liberation from there. That would make for a superb lockdown.

After becoming homeless for three months, Sapana travelled to Kathmandu where she became involved in an organisation that cremates unclaimed bodies.

The bodies of those who have died from Covid-19 are strictly managed by the Nepalese army. Sapana’s organisation retrieves the abandoned bodies from the street or mortuaries and arranges for them to be taken to hospital for post-mortem examinations. If the body remains unclaimed for 35 days, the organisation brings it to the crematorium and performs the Dagbatti rituals, which in Hindu culture are usually performed by the son of the deceased.

> There are homeless, abandoned people across the world. People who die on the streets deserve proper last rites. I do this job not as a social service but for my own peace of mind.

Pardis Sabeti is a professor at Harvard University, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She has contributed to human and microbial genomics, information theory, and rural infectious disease surveillance and education efforts in West Africa.

In 2014 she was in the team of Ebola fighters named Persons of the Year by Time magazine, which also included her on its list of 100 Most Influential People. She is the host of educational video series Against All Odds, and lead singer of the rock band Thousand Days.

> Through all the challenges we will endure, solidarity and laughter with other good people in the fight for a better world is key to our endurance and success.

Febfi Setyawati is the founder of Untukteman.id, an organisation that helps vulnerable people – especially ill people with financial difficulties and those affected by Covid-19.

She and her team drove around the community in a Volkswagen campervan to provide free internet access (which can be costly) and a mobile library for students, so they could continue their work. The team is now trying to provide signal transmitters for areas where there is no internet signal.

The grief she experienced when her son, Akara Haykal, died from Moebius syndrome, a rare neurological condition, inspired Febfi to help others.

> The world has changed a lot in 2020. We must change for the world, too. It is better for us to do a little of what is useful, rather than complain a lot.

Ruth Shady has a doctorate in archaeology and anthropology and is vice-dean of research at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the National University of San Marcos. She is director of multidisciplinary research at the Caral archaeological site, considered to be the oldest civilisation in the Americas.

She has honorary doctorates from five Peruvian universities and in 2018 won the L'Oréal-Unesco national prize for women in science. She was also awarded a Medal of Honour of the Congress of the Republic of Peru.

> Women should get involved in the activities that are required to promote change and to build a society where humans can live in harmony with each other and in balance with nature.

Kathy Sullivan is an accomplished scientist, astronaut, author and executive. She was one of the first six women to join the Nasa astronaut corps in 1978, and holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space.

She is also the first woman to dive to the deepest point in the ocean – and, thanks to her combination of spaceflight and deep-sea dives, has earned the title "most vertical person in the world".

> The world has changed a lot in 2020. It reminds us how interdependent all life on this planet really is and forces us to reassess what we truly need and value.

Rima Sultana Rimu is a member of Young Women Leaders for Peace in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. This programme, part of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, aims to empower young women from conflict-affected countries to be leaders and agents of peace.

Rima responded to the Rohingya refugee crisis in her community by advocating for gender-responsive humanitarian action. She organises gender-sensitive, age-appropriate literacy and numeracy classes for Rohingya refugees, and for women and girls in the community who lack access to education.

Rima also uses radio broadcasts and theatre performance to raise awareness of UN Security Council resolutions, relating especially to women, peace and security, in her community.

> I am determined to bring gender equality to Bangladesh. I believe in the power of women and girls to fight for our rights. We will succeed.

Dr Anastasia Volkova is an entrepreneur and agricultural innovator, who uses science and technology to tackle issues of food security.

In 2016 she founded FluroSat, a company that uses drone and satellite data, along with algorithms and other tools, to help farmers optimise crop production.

> Be the change that you wish to see in the world. I hope we can all find our own ways to take advantage of this situation and enable positive change.

Siouxsie is a scientist and public-health communicator who has been a force of nature in New Zealand during the pandemic. She has collaborated with cartoonist Toby Morris to communicate the science of Covid-19; their work together includes the popular "flatten the curve" visualisation, which has been translated into many languages and adapted by governments to help people understand lockdowns.

She also heads the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland, where she and her team make bacteria glow in the dark in order to understand how infectious microbes make us sick, and to find new medicines.

> The countries where people have united to successfully protect each other from the pandemic show us that big challenges can be tackled with compassion and collective action.

Dr Leo Yee-Sin runs Singapore’s state-of-the-art National Centre for Infectious Diseases, which is responsible for handling outbreaks of communicable diseases.

As well as being at the forefront of the country’s battle against Covid-19, she has spent decades improving HIV care in Singapore and leading teams through many outbreaks of infectious diseases, including Sars. She balances her work commitments with her role as a mother of three children.

> Covid-19 has changed everyone’s life. However, it has not changed the prominence of female leadership. Those countering the virus at the frontline are predominantly women, and they do so with courage, strength and resilience.