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The Most Inspiring & Influential Under-30 Women of 2018

The most inspiring and influential Under-30 Women of 2018 are listed in age order

​​​​​​The list of most inspiring and influential under-30 Women of 2018 has been prepared on the basis of BBC 100 Women.

BBC 100 Women had announced its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2018 on 19 November 2018.

The list of BBC 100 Women was prepared ranging the age from 15 to 94, and from more than 60 countries. It included leaders, trailblazers and everyday heroes.

The most inspiring and influential Under-30 Women of 2018 are listed in age order below, with their profession, country of birth and a short biography.

1. Haven Shepherd,
Age: 15 years
Profession: Student and swimmer
Country: Vietnam.
Biography:  Haven is a Paralympic hopeful, having survived a suicide bomb set off by her parents.
 
2. Reyhan Jamalova
Age: 16 years
Profession: Student and entrepreneur
Country: Azerbaijan.
Biography:  Reyhan is a young entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Rainergy, a company that harvests energy from rainwater.
 
3. Svetlana Alekseeva
Age: 18 years
Profession: Model
Country: Russia.
Biography:  Svetlana survived a fire that burned almost half her body and now works to help people with scars feel positive about their bodies.

The most inspiring and influential women 2018

4. Alina Anisimova
Age: 19 years
Profession: Student programmer
Country: Kyrgyzstan
Biography:  Alina leads the Kyrgyz Girls' Space School, which aims to send the country's first satellite into space.
 
5. Nujeen Mustafa 
Age: 19 years
Profession: Student 
Country: Syria
Biography: Nujeen fled the war in Syria, crossing thousands of miles in her wheelchair, and now campaigns on behalf of refugees with disabilities.
 
6. Nargis Taraki
Age: 21 years
Profession: NGO legal adviser
Country: Afghanistan.
Biography: Nargis was her parents' fifth consecutive daughter and was almost exchanged for a boy, but her parents let her complete her education and she now campaigns for female empowerment.
 
7. Marie Laguerre
Age: 22 years
Profession: Civil engineer and architecture student
Country: France
Biography: Marie has created a platform for women to share stories of street harassment, after a video of her calling out her harasser went viral on social media.
 
8. Park Soo-yeon
Age: 22 years
Profession: Digital campaigner
Country: South Korea
Biography: Soo-yeon is the founder of an organisation that seeks to eradicate digital sex crimes.
 
9. Yuki Okoda
Age: 23 years
Profession: Astronomer
Country: Japan
Biography: Yuki studies physics and was the first person to discover a new star that could shed light on the origins of our solar system.
 
10. Chidera Eggerue
Age: 23 years
Profession: Blogger - 'Slumflower'
Country: UK
Biography: Chidera is a best-selling author and activist behind the social media movement #saggyboobsmatter, driving new conversations about perceptions of women's bodies.
 
11. Shrouk El-Attar
Age: 26 years
Profession: Electronic design engineer
Country: Egypt
Biography: Shrouk is a refugee and full-time engineer, who uses belly dancing to raise awareness and campaign for the rights of the LGBT+ community in Egypt.
 
12. Raghda Ezzeldin
Age: 26 years
Profession: Free-diver
Country: Egypt
Biography: Raghda is a record-breaking free-diver, who descends to extreme depths without breathing apparatus.
 
 13. Lao Khang
Age: 26 years
Profession: Rugby player and coach
Country: Laos
Biography: Lao led the Laos women's national rugby team to historic international victories and is the first Hmong woman to earn her rugby coach licence.
 
14. Joseline Esteffania Velasquez Morales
Age: 26 years
Profession: Student and NGO co-ordinator
Country: Guatemala
Biography: Joseline works in communities to help educate girls and young women about sex and relationships and strives to end forced marriages.
 
15.  G.E.M.
Age: 27 years
Profession: Singer-songwriter
Country: China
Biography: G.E.M. is a top-selling female musician who uses her influence to support charities and organisations dedicated to music, education and poverty.
 
16. Ruth Medufia
Age: 27 years
Profession: Metalworker
Country: Ghana
Biography: Ruth is a female welder who lives in an urban slum community and aspires to be a role model for young women in the construction industry.
 
17. Safiya Wazir
Age: 27 years
Profession: Community activist
Country: Afghanistan
Biography: Safiya arrived in New Hampshire, USA, when she was 16 years old and became the first Afghan refugee to be elected as a state representative in New Hampshire in the 2018 mid-term elections.
 
18. Cindy Arlette Contreras Bautista
Age: 28 years
Profession: Lawyer
Country: Peru
Biography: Arlette became the face of the NiUnaMenos (Not One [woman] Less) movement against domestic violence in Peru after a video of her being attacked by her boyfriend went viral.
 
19. Joy Buolamwini
Age: 28 years
Profession: AI artist/researcher
Country: Canada
Biography: Joy is a 'poet of code', using art and research to illuminate the social implications of artificial intelligence.
 
20. Jacqueline Straub
Age: 28 years
Profession: Theologian, journalist and author
Country: Germany
Biography: Jacqueline hopes to become a Catholic priest and is campaigning to break the Vatican's 'glass ceiling.'
 
21. Brigitte Sossou Perenyi
Age: 28 years
Profession: Documentary producer
Country: Ghana
Biography: Brigitte is an award-winning documentary producer, who told her story of being a Trokosi - a practice that sends girls to serve priests in shrines as payment for the "sins" of their family - and being trafficked from Togo to Ghana.
 
22. Thando Hopa
Age: 29 years
Profession: Model, lawyer, activist
Country: South Africa
Biography: Thando is a diversity and inclusion advocate. Cast in the Pirelli calendar 2018, she is the first person of colour in South Africa to have featured in the publication.
 
23. Randi Heesoo Griffin
Age: 30 years
Profession: Olympic hockey player and data scientist
Country: US
Biography: Randi challenged critics of equal pay for women in ice hockey, using data that proved they were as popular on social media as the men. She also scored the first goal for the United Korea Olympic team at the 2018 Games.
 
24.  Kanpassorn Suriyasangpetch
Age: 30 years
Profession: Dentist/tech entrepreneur
Country: Thailand
Biography: Kanpassorn founded the first mental wellness app for people in Thailand, after experiencing her own mental health problems.
 
25. Sam Ross
Age: 30 years
Profession: Catering assistant
Country: UK.
Biography: Sam has worked for 10 years as a catering assistant at Glasgow City College and travels the world representing people with Down syndrome.
 
26. Kirsty McGurrell
Age: 30 years
Profession: Charity co-ordinator
Country: UK.
Biography: Kirsty set up 4Louis, a charity that provides memory boxes for bereaved parents after her own son Louis was stillborn.

 

 

 

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