What do Gisele Pelicot, Taylor Swift and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have in common? All of them defied stereotypes and spearheaded discourse in one way or another in 2024. As the year reaches its end, NDTV celebrates women who, through their resilience, pushed for change, becoming icons for many.
A Look At Top 10 Women Changemakers
Gisele Pelicot | French Mass Rape Survivor
Source: AFP
Seventy-two-year-old Gisele Pelicot was at the centre of a mass rape trial in France which resonated around the world, becoming an icon for women in the fight against sexual violence. Her insistence on holding an open three-month trial in the southern city of Avignon garnered global support, with people hailing her as a hero.
"I wanted all women who are rape victims to say to themselves: 'Mrs Pelicot did it, so we can do it too'," she said.
Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, who admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her over a decade, was on December 19 handed the maximum term of 20 years in jail by a French court. The other 50 defendants in the case were also convicted, receiving jail terms of between three and 15 years.
After the verdict, she said she was thinking of the "unrecognised victims" of sexual violence, "whose stories often remain in the shadows".
Giorgia Meloni | Prime Minister, Italy
Source: AFP
Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, emerged as one of the most powerful Europen leaders in 2024. In just over two years after her election in 2022, Meloni has established herself as a figure with whom Brussels, and now Washington, can do business.
The leader of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party earned her recognition as Italy's "alpha" figure through her commanding leadership style, according to a report by Politico, that hailed her as the most influential person in Europe in 2024.
Meloni made headlines around the world when she became Italy's first female prime minister, with political pundits predicting she wouldn't last long in office. Proving her critics wrong, she consolidated her Government as one of the most stable ones to have existed in Italy.
Since coming to power, the right-wing leader has introduced policies on issues like migration and LGBTQ+ rights that would once have drawn condemnation from Brussels.
Sunita Williams | US Astronaut
Source: X @Astro_Suni
Sunita Lyn "Suni" Williams, the American astronaut, who holds records for most spacewalks by a woman and most spacewalk time by a woman, dominated headlines in 2024 after her eight-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) got extended till indefinite future due to technical issues.
Williams, along with fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore, embarked on an eight-day mission aboard the Boeing Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024. But the Boeing Starliner that was supposed to ferry her back faced technical issues delaying her return. NASA then resolved to make use of another spacecraft-the SpaceX Crew Dragon- to bring both astronauts back. However, some technical issues were also flagged in the new spacecraft, further delaying the astronauts' return.
NASA has announced that the stay of astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has been extended till late March 2025.
Taylor Swift | Musician
Source: AFP
American musician Taylor Swift became a billionaire last year, thanks to the earnings from her Eras Tour and the value of her music catalogue. Swift, who has won 14 Grammys, is the first musician globally to make the billionaire ranking primarily based on her songs and performances.
According to a report by Forbes, Swift's fortune includes nearly $600 million amassed from royalties and touring, plus a music catalogue worth an estimated $600 million and some $125 million in real estate.
After her album "Midnights" was released in 2022, she became the first artist in history to claim the top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100 song list.
Nirmala Sitharaman | Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, India
Source: PTI
An economist, Nirmala Sitharaman became India's Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister In May 2019-- the first full-time female politician to hold both positions. She was reappointed to both positions after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party came back to power following India's general election in June 2024.
As in charge of India's finance ministry, Sitharaman leads a nearly $4 trillion economy, the fifth largest in the world. Per her projection, India's GDP is likely to overtake both Japan and Germany soon, becoming the third-largest in the world by 2027.
Vinesh Phogat | Indian Wrestler
Source: X @Phogat_Vinesh
One of India's most accomplished wrestlers and a three-time Olympian, Vinesh Phogat recorded her name in history this year by becoming the first Indian female wrestler to reach an Olympic final. However, she was disqualified before competing in the women's 50kg final, having failed the weigh-in by 100 grams. After her disqualification, she approached the CAS in hopes of a joint silver medal, a move that gained global support for her.
Phogal also emerged as a vocal critic of gender inequality in sports. She became the face of a months-long protest by Indian wrestlers against their federation chief, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexually harassing female athletes - a charge he denied.
Madison Tevlin | Canadian Talk-Show Host And Model With Down's Syndrome
Source: X @DailyFishwrap2
Madison Tevlin took the world by storm this year after she appeared in the "Assume That I Can" campaign which aimed at shattering prejudices about people with Down's syndrome. The awareness campaign went on to amass over 150 million views and win awards for its positive impact, including a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions Festival.
Canadian actress and model Tevlin, who hosts the award-nominated talk show "Who Do You Think I Am?" and the "21 Questions" podcast. also featured in New York Fashion Week.
Ann Chumaporn (Waaddao) | Thailand's LGBTQ+ Activist
Source: X @waaddao
In 2024, Thailand signed a marriage equality bill into law, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-sex unions. Spearheading efforts to get the bill through parliament was Ann "Waaddao" Chumaporn, who is the legal review commissioner in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Thailand.
Waaddao, who hails from rural southern Thailand, is the co-founder of Bangkok Pride and a queer lesbian activist. She has been advocating human rights and LGBTQ+ family rights for more than a decade.
Han Kang | Nobel Laurate
Source: AFP
South Korean author Han Kang won the Nobel Prize for Literature in October 2024, becoming the first Asian woman and Korean writer ever to win the award considered the most prestigious in the world. She is also one of the youngest writers to win the Nobel.
Describing her work, the Swedish Academy wrote that Kang's "intense poetic prose confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life." Kang's work often discusses sensitive Korean historical events, such as "Human Acts" featuring the uprising suppressed by the Korean military government, for which she was even blacklisted during Park Geun-hye's presidency.
Yulia Navalnaya | Kremlin Critic
Source: Reuters
Yulia Navalnaya, a trained economist, has remained in the public eye to continue her husband Alexei Navalny's work after he died in February in an Arctic prison. She has lobbied against Putin's government from abroad and said in October that once he is gone she would stand as candidate for Russian president.
"My political opponent is Vladimir Putin and I'm trying to do and I will do everything to make his regime fall as soon as possible," said 48-year-old Navalnaya, widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in October.
In July Navalnaya, who lives in Berlin, was added to Moscow's blacklist of "terrorists and extremists".
