BBC has unveiled its list of the most inspiring and influential 100 women worldwide for 2023. The list, which spotlights trailblazers and changemakers, features Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan Dağdeviren. She gained recognition for her groundbreaking contribution to the field of science by inventing a wearable ‘ultrasound bra’ designed for the early detection of breast cancer.
The BBC has revealed its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2023.
Among them are attorney and former US First Lady Michelle Obama, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, Ballon d’Or-winning footballer Aitana Bonmatí, AI expert Timnit Gebru, feminist icon Gloria Steinem, Hollywood star America Ferrera and beauty mogul Huda Kattan.
In a year where extreme heat, wildfires, floods and other natural disasters have been dominating headlines, the list also highlights women who have been working to help their communities tackle climate change and take action to adjust to its impacts.
The list includes 28 Climate Pioneers, named ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28.
Canan Dağdeviren is also on the list
The featured scientist on the list is Assoc. Prof. Dr. Canan Dağdeviren, and she is introduced as follows:
“An associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Media Lab in the US, Canan Dagdeviren has recently invented a wearable ultrasound patch for early breast cancer detection.
She drew inspiration from her aunt who was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer at age 49, despite having regular cancer screening, and died six months later.
At her aunt’s bedside, Dagdeviren drew up a rough plan of a diagnostic device that could be incorporated into a bra and would allow for more frequent screening of individuals at high risk of breast cancer. The technology could potentially save millions of lives.”
Some of the other names featured on the BBC 100 Women list for 2023 include:
Matcha Phorn-in, Thailand / Campaigner for indigenous and LGBTQ+ rights
Living in Thailand on the border with Myanmar, an area which has experienced the effects of both climate change and conflict, Matcha Phorn-in has focused her work on the rights of minorities.
She founded the Sangsan Anakot Yawachon Development Project, an organisation that aims to educate and empower thousands of stateless and landless indigenous women, girls, and young members of the LGBTQ+ community.
As an ethnic minority/indigenous lesbian feminist, Matcha Phorn-in has a leading role in the movement to stop gender-based violence in the region, while also advocating for land rights and climate justice for displaced and disenfranchised people.
Lala Pasquinelli, Argentina /Artist
Women Who Were Not On a (Magazine) Cover is artist Lala Pasquinelli’s brainchild, founded in 2015 to question beauty stereotypes and the representation of women in the media and popular culture.
The project is behind viral campaigns that invite women to reassess the narrative around their bodies, including issues such as ageing and dieting. Their recent call to action #HermanaSoltaLaPanza (Sister, stop sucking in your tummy) highlighted real stories of people of all shapes and sizes.
A lawyer, poet, lesbian and feminist activist, Pasquinelli works to dismantle homogenous feminine beauty ideals that she says are “classist, sexist and racist” and further fuel gender inequality.
Paramida, Germany / DJ and music producer
Long before protests erupted in Iran last year, DJ Paramida had been defying cultural restrictions for women of Iranian descent.
Now based in Berlin, Paramida discovered her passion for music and dance culture while living between Frankfurt and Tehran in her teenage years.
Inspired by iconic dance music history, her record label Love On The Rocks promotes euphoric and outsider dance culture today.
As a resident of Berghain’s Panorama Bar in Berlin, she has become a globally sought-after DJ and an accomplished music producer. She uses this space to challenge gender norms in the male-dominated music and nightlife industry.
Yael Braudo-Bahat, Israel / Peace activist
As a co-director at Women Wage Peace (WWP), Yael Braudo-Bahat brings her background in law to an Israeli grassroots peace movement which has more than 50,000 members.
Established in 2014, WWP seeks a negotiated political resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, emphasising the role of women in the peace process.
For the past two years, WWP has collaborated with a Palestinian sister movement, Women of the Sun.
Braudo-Bahat says she owes much to her mentor, the prominent peace activist and WWP co-founder, Vivian Silver, who dedicated decades of her life to fostering understanding and equality between Israelis and Palestinians. Silver was killed in the attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
Sara Al-Saqqa, Palestinian Territories / General surgeon
The first certified Palestinian female surgeon in Gaza, Dr Sara Al-Saqqa works in its largest hospital, Al-Shifa.
She has been using her Instagram account to document the experience of treating people in the middle of a war. Al-Shifa hospital has been badly damaged as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas.
Al-Saqqa has been posting about the lack of electricity, fuel, water and food, which has prevented the hospital from treating its patients. She had to leave Al-Shifa shortly before Israeli soldiers raided the hospital, in what the Israel Defense Forces described as a targeted operation against Hamas.
Al-Saqqa studied medicine in the Islamic University of Gaza and surgery at London’s Queen Mary University. She is no longer the only female surgeon in Gaza, with others following in her footsteps.