Mithali Raj in BBC’s List of Powerful Women
Mithali Raj, the captain of India's national women's cricket team has many reasons to rejoice. After leading India into the final of Women’s World Cup, she has been named as one of the 100 most influential women by the BBC. Mithali, 34, is currently the highest run-getter in ODIs. She is known for her grit and determination and is one of the most recognisable faces in India. She enjoys a dedicated fan following just like the male cricketers. While revealing the list of 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017, BBC said that the women on the list will be part of the 100 Women Challenge. The challenge will be hosted at Silicon Valley from October 2nd – 6th where a group will tackle the glass ceiling; Delhi from October 9th-13th, where a team will be looking at female illiteracy; in London and Nairobi from October 16th to 20th, the team will look at the safety on public transport and from October 23rd -27th women in Rio will consider sexism in sport. The aim is to counter some of the biggest problems that women face and to share their experiences and create innovative ways to tackle: 1) The glass ceiling - #Teamlead, 2) Female illiteracy - #Teamread, 3) Street harassment - #Teamgo and 4) Sexism in sport - #Teamplay. Mithali is in #Teamplay. Other Indians who made it to the list are: Aditi Avasthi (Entrepreneur; Founder and CEO, Embibe), Ira Trivedi (Writer), Mehroonisa Siddiqui (Homemaker, mother of actor Nawazuddin), Nitya Thummalachetty (Director of Diversity, FortunaPIX), Priyanka Roy (Student), Rupi Kaur (Author), Tulika Kiran (Teacher and social worker), Urvashi Sahni (Founder and CEO, Study Hall Educational Foundation), Virali Modi (Disability rights activist and youth ambassador)