24 Fierce Acts Of Feminism You Probably Didn't Hear About In 2014

Adding to this list of 18 badass women in 2014 - here are some examples of majority world feminism.

1. Colonel Jameela Bayaz became Afghanistan's first female police chief

Reuters / Via bbc.com

Fewer than 1% of the country's police officers are women.

2. Women from South Sudan are fighting for inclusion in peace-building talks

Travis Lupick/IPS / Via allafrica.com

"We as women are not in any way part of the ongoing negotiations in Addis Ababa and we want to play a part in saving our beloved country. We want an inclusive process to achieve sustainable peace for everybody in our country which ought to be the priority for the meeting," said Former Minister for Public Affairs in the country Josephine Abalang. (All Africa)

3. Catherine Samba-Panza became the interim President of Central African Republic

REUTERS/Siegfried Modola / Via trust.org

She is Africa's third female head of state in the post-colonial era, after Malawi's Joyce Banda and Liberia's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

4. Somayya Jabarti became first female editor in chief of a daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia

Twitter: @SayeedaWarsi / Via bbc.com

5. Rwandan women are fighting for equality - and winning.

(Finbarr O'Reilly / Courtesy Reuters) / Via foreignaffairs.com

"Half of the country’s 14 Supreme Court justices are women. Boys and girls now attend compulsory primary and secondary school in equal numbers. New, far-reaching laws enable women to own and inherit property and to pass citizenship to their children. Women are now permitted to use their husbands’ assets as collateral for loans, and government-backed funds aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship offer help to women without familial resources. In 2000, the country ranked 37th in the world for women’s representation in an elected lower house of parliament. Today, it ranks first."

- Foreign Affairs

6. Egyptian rapper Mayam Mahmoud won the Index Freedom of Expression award for her work for women's rights

Via edition.cnn.com

"Who said that femininity is about dresses? Femininity is about intelligence and intellect."

7. Afghan women continue to express themselves through poetry, despite writing being forbidden to many

Via slate.com

A book documenting clandestine poetry written by Afghan women was published this year, "I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays from Contemporary Afghanistan"

8. Women in Guatemala are fighting against gender-based violence

Ilene Perlman/Oxfam America / Via firstperson.oxfamamerica.org

"“In my case, I’m a little rebellious,” she [Tziná Mendoza, pictured] told me, a warm and steady smile on her face. “I changed my role: What the man can do, I can do, and what I can do the man can do—that’s why they call me feminist.”

9. Ashol-Pan, a 13-year-old living in Mongolia,may be the world's only girl golden eagle hunter

Asher Svidensky / Via bbc.com

10. Women in Bangladesh are fighting against all the odds to become financially independent "joyeeta"

Via blog.brac.net

Joyeeta is the Bengali word for 'winning woman'.

"Struggling against all odds, these women are now icons of change in society. Recognition of these remarkable individuals will be an important tool in inspiring others alike and making them more confident to help build a better future for the women of Bangladesh." - BRAC blog

11. Nigerian writer NoViolet Bulawayo won the Etisalat prize for Literature - and gave it to the runner up, Yewande Omotoso

Via afripopmag.com

12. Berivan Kilic went from child bride to the first woman to hold an elected office in the district's local government.

photo by Tulin Daloglu / Via al-monitor.com

She says:

" “I divorced my husband because I realized that I was harming [my children] by staying married. I stepped into politics, because I am sincerely worried about what kind of a world we’re leaving our children. There is too much violence and inexplicable crimes. We should all try to do better for our children.”

AL-Monitor

13. Turkish women started a "'Close Your Legs" campaign against men taking up too much space on public transport

Via huffingtonpost.com

"The 'Close Your Legs' campaign was an initiative of the Istanbul Feminist Collective (IFK) to highlight harassment in public places." - Huffington Post

14. Amina Kato Chiroma produces a radio show in Nigeria to share information on pregnancy and childbirth

Via youtube.com

"I produce a radio show to share advice and make pregnancy and childbirth safer." Amina Kato Chiroma on how radio can save lives in northern Nigeria. (from BBC Media Action)

15. Transgender women in Malaysia challenged a law denying gender rights - and won

JAVAD_TIZMAGHZ / Via hrw.org

"The case was filed by transgender women in Malaysia who challenged section 66 of the Sharia law in Negeri Sembilan state, which prohibits “any male person who in any public place wears a woman’s attire or poses as a woman.”... The Court of Appeal ruled that section 66 was unconstitutional and void because it violated the appellants’ rights to live with dignity, earn a livelihood, and directly affects their freedom of movement, expression, and equal protection of the law.

- Human Rights Watch

16. Wiam Simav Bedirxan filmed horrifying footage of the siege of Homs, made it into a film and received a standing ovation at Cannes

Via khaleejtimes.com

Wiam Simav Bedirxan sent footage she filmed direct from Homs over the internet to film director Ossama Mohammed, who was in Paris. The film they made together, “Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait”, was shown at Cannes this year.

17. Khadija is challenging gender stereotypes in Bangladesh by becoming a motorcycle repair woman

Via blog.brac.net

Following her success, BRAC have begun offering motorcycle repair training for whole groups of girls. - more at BRACblog.

18. For the first time in history, Burundian women have taken up playing traditional drums

Via allafrica.com

"When we talk about gender equality, it has to be reflected in all areas of life. There is no longer such a thing as a dance reserved for men, as all professions are now open to women," says Immaculée, one of the female drummers, with a smile." - All Africa

19. Ishita Malaviya, India's first professional female surfer, set up a surf school

Via theguardian.com

Watch a short documentary about her here.

20. These survivors of acid attacks in India became the face of a new clothing range

Facebook: rahulsaharanphotography / Via independent.co.uk

The clothing line, Rupa Design, is designed by a woman who had acid thrown in her face while she was asleep four years ago.

21. Kurdistan’s female fighters are taking on ISIS

AP / Via bbc.co.uk

"Battling Isil on the frontline in Northern Iraq are the female peshmerga army - fighting as equals alongside the male Kurdish forces for the future of their country"

- Telegraph

22. India's Mars mission was a success, and check out who was in the control room

Manjunath Kiran of the AFP / Via bbc.co.uk

23. A group of HIV-positive women in Kenya have taken legal action against the government, saying they were sterilised without consent

Via bbc.co.uk

""I went in for an operation to give birth to my first child. By the time I was leaving the operation the doctor told me I had been sterilised," Ms Otieno said."

-BBC

24. A 10 year old Afghan girl has won a landmark case after being raped by a mullah inside his mosque

Getty / Via cosmopolitan.co.uk

Mohammad Amin was sentenced to 20 years in jail.

"At the point where Amin tried to claim she had seduced him, she pulled aside her veil and spoke to him directly: "Hey liar, hey liar," she said. "God hate you, you are dirt, you are dirt, you are a vampire."

- Cosmopolitan