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| Lyse Doucet chairing one of the debates at the BBC 100 Women event. Photograph: Dave Hogan/BBC |
Via The Guardian
The rape and murder of a young female student in Delhi in December last year prompted me and many other journalists to think about how we cover news stories about sexual violence and other issues that particularly affect women.
We started to develop a series – eventually called 100 Women - which would encourage many of our female correspondents to look at the opportunities and risks that women face today.
As a result the BBC Global News series 100 Women was born, a season inspired by our female audience who told us they wanted more voices like theirs to be heard on the BBC and for their experiences to be better reflected.
Since early October we have been reporting on women's achievements: the breadwinners and the high-fliers; the academics and the bankers; those who have smashed the glass ceiling and those who have fought for the rights of women to vote, to be educated, and even to drive cars.
But as well as celebrating achievements we also looked at the grim reality facing many women worldwide: those in domestic service; those forced into sex-selective abortion; those who endure female genital mutilation; and those who fear sexual violence and harassment every day.
At the heart of our planning and development of 100 Women was a desire to create space and time for women to talk to each other.
Highlights for me included the 100 Women 'World Have Your Say' special, presented by Nuala McGovern, which brought together several of our mentor/mentee couplings. From the very early stages of planning and developing the series I was preoccupied by the legacy that would remain after the season was over.
We paired women who work in the same spheres but operate in very different circumstances, and asked them to commit to staying in touch for a year. We included film directors, campaigners, business women, journalists, stand-up comedians, politicians and health workers – and the conversation was enlightening, full of warmth, experience and advice.
One of the afternoon floor debates, presented by Chloe Tilly, asked whether it was possible to be a woman of faith and a feminist. A panel of five women of faith and one atheist debated with 94 other women in the audience.
It was a difficult, emotional and at times firey discussion. The women were polled at the beginning and end of the debate and between the two votes opinion hardened against the motion. More thought the two could not coexist.
The series saw Malala Yousafzai's first broadcast interview but the final word went to 19-year-old Icelander Sigridur Maria Egilsdottir, who said: "Although it may seem impossible to change outdated rules that stop girls being educated ... our world is ruled by little else than thoughts and ideas, and therefore it is within our power to change it."
For me the strength of 100 Women was in the participation. I got a thrill out of spotting such high-profile guests like Ingrid Bentancourt, Jackie Smith and Obiageli Ezekwesili, who asked questions and commented from the floor. There was an overwhelming sense of equality, which seemed fitting for the finale of the series.
Their stories and willingness to listen and participate was humbling. After the event, Judith Webb, the first woman to command an all-male field squadron in the British army, asked if it was OK for Joyce (Aoko Aruga, a trainee teacher and aspiring politician from Kenya) to visit her family in Somerset before Joyce's flight home.
It was those moments that humbled me, as they revealed a bond between women who would never otherwise have met. It made my small idea back in January, which has been brought to life by a tiny, loyal and hard-working team, buoyed by a few BBC executives, seem worth every minute.
Fiona Crack is the editor of the BBC's 100 Women series. She has worked as a journalist and editor on a number of BBC programmes and is now planning editor for BBC Global News Languages. For more information on the 100 Women series click here
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