Two Ukrainians Among BBC's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World
The British television corporation BBC has announced its annual list of the 100 most influential women in the world for 2024. The list includes two Ukrainians - Olga Rudnieva and Olga Olefirenko, the publication's website reports.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, Olga Rudnieva was one of the founders of the Superhumans trauma centre in Lviv, which provides prosthetics and rehabilitation to Ukrainians affected by the Russian war.
The woman said she launched the initiative because she wanted to help those wounded in the war. Many soldiers lost their limbs on the battlefield, which is why they were considered ‘victims’, but for Olga Rudnieva, they are ‘superhumans’ who deserve help.
‘Resilience means waking up every morning to the sound of sirens and continuing to fight for your country. It's rediscovering your ‘why’ instead of getting stuck on ‘why me? It's finding a way to do more with less every day,’ the founder of Superhumans shared her thoughts.
Over the first two years of operation, more than a thousand people have used the centre's services.
Olga Olefirenko became one of the most influential women by fulfilling the dream of her military father, who died on the frontline in 2015.
At first, she bought cattle and started her own farm, but experienced financial difficulties and was forced to sell all the animals.
However, the Ukrainian woman did not want to give up on her father's aspirations. In 2023, Olga drew up a business plan that received funding from the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.
The woman revived her farm and now focuses on modernising it and applying new agricultural technologies. In addition, Olga is creating jobs in the community, where she is seen as a source of inspiration and leadership, the list's compilers say.
The BBC's 100 Women project was launched in 2013. Every year, influential women from all over the world are selected for the list, and interviews, reports and documentaries are published about them.
In 2023, the BBC's list includes Ukrainian writer and publicist Oksana Zabuzhko, Climate Policy Advisor Iryna Stavchuk, and Olena Rozvadovska, founder of the Ukrainian charity Voices of Children.