100 Women

Bouncer, mechanic, taxi driver and firefighter - just some of the jobs being done by women in India today. Divya Arya meets some of the women who are challenging gender stereotypes and breaking down social taboos in order to find work in areas traditionally the preserve of men.

In 2002, the French Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt became perhaps one of the best-known hostages in the world when she was kidnapped and held for over six years, deep in the Colombian jungle, by the Farc. Watching Ingrid's emotional release on TV in 2008, was a young Canadian journalist called Amanda Lindhout. A month later she herself was taken hostage at gun-point, on a work trip to Somalia. For the 460 days of Amanda's captivity, she thought about Ingrid nearly every day, inspired by the thought that she too could one day end her ordeal. This is the first time they have spoken to each other.

Akwasi Sarpong visits Uganda’s thriving coding scene, to find out if home-grown, technology-based solutions can help tackle some of the country’s big development challenges.

Bola Mosuro travels to Ghana to meet the women who are making their mark in the male dominated world of technology, and inspiring young girls to follow in their footsteps.

The Syrian province of Deir Ezzor was taken over by Islamic State militants a year ago. A former teacher explains how she's expected to behave under the control of militants.

American high school student, Delaney Osborne explains the pressure she feels to behave in a certain way. Delaney is 17 years old, pregnant, and living with her mother.

22-year-old Lubov Russkina from the nomadic Khanty tribe in western Siberia explains to Olga Ivshina from the BBC Russian service what it means to be a good girl in her community

Is a relationship more or less likely to fail when a woman is successful? When is it right to put career aspirations on the back burner - to bring up a family? Live debate.

Why aren't there more women in leadership roles - why do men still seem to be ahead, particularly in the corporate world? Are quotas the way to address the gender imbalance? Nuala McGovern chairs.

How important is image? Are beautiful woman more likely to succeed? What has led to so many turning to plastic surgery? Does self improvement come from within or without? Listen to the live debate.

Anu Anand speaks to three women in Delhi with very different experiences of life in this male-dominated country which hint at the big change in the gender balance. Anu Anand speaks to three women in Delhi with very different experiences of life in this male-dominated country. One cooks and cleans for her whole family, a second left home to set up her own designer clothing shop, while the third became the city's only female bus driver. Yet the stories of all three provide a hint at the big change in the gender balance slowly taking hold in this metropolis.

James Fletcher travels to one of America’s poorest cities to meet a passionate group of people working hard to get young, black women into technology and tech jobs.

Dr Comfort Momoh is a campaigner against the practice of female genital mutilation. She currently runs the African Well Woman’s clinic at Guys and St Thomas’ hospital in London, which she founded in 1997 to help women who have been subjected to the procedure.

A Nigerian journalist, Hauwa Yusuf, and student, Abigail Olaley, discuss their arrival and making a life in the UK. Marvina Babs-Apata says that she didn’t know she was black until she arrived in Britain 17 years ago. She was surprised to find that she was defined by her colour and that her new London classmates believed she had lived in a mud hut in her native Nigeria. In the fourth of a series of conversations between different generations of women who have created new lives for themselves in the UK, Marvina chats with 50 year old Hausa journalist Hauwa Yusuf and 21 year old student Abigail Olaley.

Meet Maria Bueno who left El Salvador as a teen and now runs five businesses and a working mother who heads up communications for one of the biggest public transport companies

Fatou Bensouda’s quest for justice began as a young girl in Gambia she was disturbed by the plight of a female relative who suffered domestic abuse. She joined the International Criminal Court – the word’s only permanent war crimes court - in 2004 as a Deputy Prosecutor and has served as Prosecutor since 2012. As Prosecutor, she has prioritised crimes against women and children but that hasn’t silenced critics who accuse the Court of being slow, expensive and only targeting African suspects. She talks to Zeinab Badawi about the allegations of racism and selective justice and whether her gender has been a help or hindrance.

At the age of 18 and speaking barely a word of English, Izabella Brodzinska arrived in Edinburgh in 1957 to live with the father she had never met. Having fought with the British during World War Two, he was unable to return to their home in Poland. In the third of a series of conversations featuring women who have created a new life in the UK and younger female members in their community, Izabella chats with 24-year-old student Magda Greszczuk and 56-year-old Violeta Ilendo who has spent many years working in local government in London and Scotland. Aasmah Mir hosts this intimate and revealing discussion in which the women talk about how the Polish community in Britain has grown and flourished and how the experiences of immigrants, such as Izabella, have influenced the lives of following generations. Young Polish pianist – Edyta Mydlowska – plays Chopin. (Photo: A factory worker checking freshly-made honey cakes on the production line at the Torun Confectionery Works, central Poland in 1976. Credit: Keystone

Hilary Swank has won Best Actress Academy Awards for her roles in Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby. Rajini Vaidyanathan discusses her background, influences and her work with the disadvantaged. Growing up in poverty in a trailer park success wasn’t automatic for her and she has said despite wanting to be an actor since she was 8 years old she never expected to excel in the industry. Now a red carpet regular, Hilary Swank dedicates a lot of time to animal rights, homelessness and cancer charities.

Sania Mirza started playing tennis at the age of 6 and has gone on to become one of the most prominent names in the women’s game. She is considered a national treasure in her native India. But her life off the court has won her fans as well as critics with some of her compatriots questioning her outspokenness on women’s rights and her marrying a man of Pakistani origin. Yogita Limaye talks to her about the ups and downs of celebrity, the objectification of women and encouraging female participation in sport.

The Japanese Prime Minister has promised that within five years, around a third of all Japanese executives will be women. How achievable is that? Mariko Oi reports from Tokyo.