‘She’s The Only Friend I’d Skip School For’: Malala Yousafzai Met Greta Thunberg And Twitter Went Into Overdrive

Rebeca Lane is a trailblazing Guatemalan hip-hop artist who uses her music to promote feminism and fight for social justice.

She is a survivor of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a former partner, a topic she addresses in her most famous song: 'Mujer Lunar', or 'Lunar Woman', which calls for respect for women's bodies.

Margaret is a nurse and midwife working at the Kawaala Health Centre IV in Kampala, Uganda's capital.

She has worked with ActionAid since 2013, connecting women and girls in need of help with ActionAid-supported shelters.

Margaret survived domestic abuse at the hands of her former husband and now helps other women and girls rebuild their lives after experiencing violence.

When Cossy's abusive husband passed away from HIV-related causes, she sought treatment and support from ActionAid Uganda's local partner, the Makerere Women's Development Association (MAWEDA).

She received training in hairdressing and handicrafts, as well as money to open her own hair salon.

The salon has been operating for 16 years and Cossy trains single and widowed women in hairdressing and basket-weaving skills.

She also works as a facilitator for MAWEDA and was elected chair of her community.

Asiah experienced years of domestic violence while raising her four children in the Wakiso district of Uganda.

Since 2013, she has received counselling, financial support and legal assistance from ActionAid. She now has her own home, which she bought with the profit from her firewood and brick-making businesses.

She also runs a hair salon, where she trains girls in hairdressing skills. 'I empower them to work hard, [then] they go and work for themselves,' she says.

Nabuule is a counsellor for women and girls living with HIV in a poor neighbourhood in Kampala, where she grew up. A survivor of violence, Nabuule sought help from Tusitukirewamu, an ActionAid partner in Uganda.

Through the Tusitukirewamu community group, Nabuule learned to make reusable sanitary pads. She now sells them at affordable prices to women and girls in rural areas and trains others to make them too. With the help of her sons, Nabuule also makes and sells liquid soap and doormats.

Rahiba is the president of Laman, a fashion house in Kabul. Laman clothes are colourful but conservative; Rahiba describes them as 'modesty with an edge' because they do not reveal any skin.

The company's first fashion show was covered by international media but sparked criticism in Afghanistan – some people accused Rahiba of 'westernising' their culture and a few seamstresses were pressured into quitting their jobs.

Rahimi at a photoshoot for her designs in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Fakhria Momtaz opened Kabul's first yoga studio, the Momtaz Yoga Centre, in 2015. Now, more than 50 women a day come to the centre – despite facing religious criticism.

Nature is very important to Fakhria, so she often takes her classes outside. She believes her students 'must immerse themselves in nature and experience the changing seasons' in order to get the most out of their yoga practice.

Marcelline is the founder of Rebuild Women's Hope (RWH), a women-only, non-for-profit coffee collective in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Set up in 2013, the collective now has nearly 2,000 members who grow high-quality coffee on Idjwi Island.

Their coffee is sold around the world, including in the UK and US.

In 2017, Marcelline won the prestigious Robert Burns Humanitarian Award for founding the collective and transforming the lives of Congolese women.

RWH member, Bora Safari, 23, sorts through coffee at the Goma woman's coffee depot.

Marcelline in her office in Bukavu inspecting some coffee beans.

Marcelline shows RWH members articles about their collective on her phone.

Female coffee farmers and members of the RWH gather during Marcelline's visit and talk through their progress.