Pakistani right activist Mahrang Baloch, who is a doctor by profession and singing icon Hadiqa Kiani have been named in the list of 100 inspiring and influential women in 2024.
The list has been released by British broadcaster BBC as the ongoing year ending in days. Among them are also stranded astronaut Sunita Williams, rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot, actress Sharon Stone, Olympic athletes Rebeca Andrade and Allyson Felix, singer Raye, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, visual artist Tracey Emin, climate campaigner Adenike Oladosu and writer Cristina Rivera Garza.
The list 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.
Why BBC Picked Mahrang and Hadiqa?
Mahrang Baloch’s call for justice comes after her father was allegedly taken by security service officers in 2009 and found dead two years later with signs of torture.
In late 2023, Baloch led hundreds of women on a 1,000 mile (1,600km) march to the capital Islamabad to demand information on the whereabouts of their family members. She was arrested twice during the journey.
The medical doctor has since then become a prominent activist, under the banner of her own human rights group Baloch Yakjehti (Unity) Committee BYC. Her work in the field of human rights was recognised in the TIME100 Next 2024 list of emerging leaders.
According to BBC, Hadiqa Kiani, who shot to fame in 1990s, became a celebrated force in the South Asian female pop music scene, as well as a United Nations Development Programme goodwill ambassador.
In response to the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan, Kiani launched her Vaseela-e-Raah project, dedicated to aiding victims in the regions of Balochistan and South Punjab.
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.
