2018 has been a significant year for women's rights.

We've seen women gain the right to drive in Saudi Arabia, abortion legalised in Ireland and unprecedented numbers of female candidates in the US midterm elections.

Indeed, the last 12 months have seen women around the world standing up and speaking out – seen clearly in the #metoo movement against sexual harassment and assault and Time's Up campaign addressing the systemic inequality and injustice in the workplace.

Now in its sixth year, the BBC’s 100 Women season, which runs for three weeks, aims to raise awareness of the issues affecting women around the world, producing three weeks of special programmes and features for TV, radio and online audiences.

The BBC 100 Women team worked with journalists in different departments such as BBC Monitoring and BBC World Service to focus on a variety of themes, but particularly on femicide and domestic violence, as well as women who have sought to change the world around them.

Fiona Crack, founder and editor of 100 Women, said they wanted to hear from individuals who have been motivated to turn their anger into change for others, achievement against the odds.

"We chose to investigate femicide and domestic abuse as its an issue vastly underrepresented in the media," she said.

"There are human stories behind the number of victims and we are going to tell them in a host of documentaries, short films and articles from all over, including El Salvador where it is the world’s most dangerous country to live in as a woman."

Other stories feature a look inside the secret network helping survivors of domestic violence in Iraq, how disability can make it harder for women to leave abusive relationships and an intervention scheme for new fathers in Rwanda aimed at reducing domestic violence. 

"On BBC World News we have taken a look at women who have reached boiling point, who have gone on to protest for change, gone undercover or exposed wrongdoing," she said, noting the two-part series ‘Trailblazers' will feature the likes of women in Iran who protested against compulsory hijabs and an the Irish mother who exposed the cervical cancer scandal.

Last week, the broadcaster kicked off the coverage with its annual list of 100 inspiring and influential women, which ranged from Alina Anisimova, a student programmer from Kyrgyzstan who is hoping to send the country's first satellite into space, to Isabel Allende, a 76 year old author from Peru, who is the world's most widely read Spanish-language author.

Documentaries during the project, which interview women ranging from 15 to 94, include a look at the prevalence of porn in India and how it is changing perceptions of women, and an insight into the young Sahrawi Arab women training to become members of an elite landmine clearance unit operating along the world’s longest minefield.

Other digital content includes lighter coverage, such as an interactive digital game ‘From Em to Bey’ which, like the ‘seven degrees of separation’ idea, will show how some of the most influential women of the past century – from Emmeline Pankhurst to Beyonce – can be connected.

"We want to empower women and shine a light on their achievements, but also raise awareness of the issues facing them," she said.

"We've got a ‘digital freedom trash can’ which we are using to ask our female audience to tell us what objects women feel oppressed by in 2018 – it's 50 years since the iconic image of the "bra burning feminist" was sparked off following a protest against a Miss America beauty pageant in New Jersey.

"We want to see what has changed since then, and what issues are the same – it's been interesting to see what women around the world all have in common."

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