The BBC published its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from all over the world for 2019.
This 12 months, 100 Women asks: what would the long run appear like if women ruled it? The BBC’s 100 Women list includes women and girls aged 15 to 98 from over 50 countries.
From climate change activist Greta Thunberg to transgender woman Nisha Ayub, who was sent to a men’s prison on the age of 21, lots of the people on the list are driving change for girls all over the world. They give us their vision of what life might appear like in 2030.
Others, just like the anti-mafia “ghost” politician and the anti-misogyny soccer player, use their extraordinary personal experiences to pave the way in which for individuals who follow them.
Here are the 7 Southeast Asian women who were included:
1. Swietenia Puspa Lestari – Indonesia
Swietenia founded the Divers Clean Action Foundation to scrub up marine debris in Indonesia. There are currently 1,500 volunteers working across the island and in Southeast Asia.
She also initiated the #nostrawmovement campaign within the country, because of which the usage of disposable plastic straws was reduced in over 700 restaurants.
2. Nisha Ayub – Malaysia
She is a tireless advocate for transgender rights in Malaysia, co-founding SEED – the country’s first transgender-led organization – and founding T-Home, which addresses homelessness amongst older transgender women left without family support. For her work, she was honored with the American International Women of Courage award in 2016.
3. Maria Ressa – Philippines
Maria Ressa is an award-winning journalist from the Philippines who founded the web site Rappler to reveal fake news.
She has received rape and death threats online for being an outspoken critic of President Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, and she or he was arrested twice this 12 months on “cyber-defamation” charges. Ms. Ressa is represented by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
4. Sister Gerard Fernandez – Singapore
Sister Gerard is a Roman Catholic nun from Singapore who worked as a death row counselor for thirty years.
Now 81, she “walked” with 18 inmates before they died, describing her calling as helping “broken people.”
5. Dhammananda Bhikkhuni – Thailand
Buddhism is essentially the most common religion in Thailand, with roughly 300,000 Buddhist monks. However, nuns – often called bhikkhunis – are usually not recognized and can’t be ordained as priests on Thai soil.
So, in 2003, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni flew to Sri Lanka to be ordained a priest, after which returned as the primary monk to return to Thailand. There are actually 100 like her. She is the superior of Songdhammakalyani – the primary all-female Buddhist monastery within the country.
6. Van Thi Nguyen – Vietnam
Van is the co-founder of Will to Live Center, which provides training for individuals with disabilities within the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
Its goal is to create an equal working environment for everybody. He also runs the social enterprise Imagator, which employs 80 people, half of whom are disabled.
7. Trang Nguyen – Vietnam
Trang Nguyen grew up in Vietnam and from an early age was exposed to monkeys chained on the market on the streets and bears kept to extract bile for traditional medicine. So she earned a PhD in biodiversity management and founded WildAct, a nonprofit that helps authorities monitor illegal wildlife markets.
In 2018, it launched the country’s first master’s course in combating the illegal wildlife trade to assist train the subsequent generation of conservationists.
Source : Possibility of mashing | BBC
