The women who helped shape the year

Mindy Kaling was briefly mistaken for Malala Yousufzai at a New York party earlier this year. But Malala was by far the winner in the list of women who shaped 2014 - a year when we addressed street harassment and made feminist declarations along with many more landmarks – big and small.

Malala would be in the list for obvious reasons - for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at 17, the youngest recipient, but also for that she had to wait to give her “first statement after school.” Here are some more women who stood out for their pioneering initiatives in 2014:

#BringBackOurGirls

The horrific abduction of 300 girls from their school in Chibok by Boko Haram triggered an international outcry. On the ground in Nigeria, activists have not gone quiet: every day since April 30, they have gathered in the capital to protest against the kidnap of the girls.

Activism’s female face

From Ferguson to New York and across the US, thousands marched for justice following the killings of unarmed black men and women by police. And they were largely organised and led by young women: the Millions March NYC was set up by Umaara Elliott and Synead Nichols. Harriet Wistrich won Liberty’s Human Rights Lawyer of the Year award for her work showing police failures concerning the women attacked by a London taxi driver.

The feminist PR war

Beyoncé stood in front of a giant FEMINIST sign at the VMAs, inspiring miles of column inches and Emma Watson gave a speech as part of the He For She campaign at the UN in New York. The feminist PR war was largely won, with only minimal bloodletting.

Heroines of health

Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman to win the Fields Medal in Mathematics; space scientist Professor Monica Grady celebrated with the Rosetta mission when Philae landed on a comet. In Nigeria, doctor Stella Ameyo Adadevoh led a team that stopped the spread of Ebola, only to die from the virus later.

Women in the workplace

In September, India sent up the Mangalyaan satellite to orbit Mars, making it only the fourth nation to do so. The photo that marked the accomplishment was striking: a command control room showing six women in saris excitedly embracing one another in the foreground.

Small-screen queens

Yes, there was Dapper Laughs and his patently ridiculous brand of “entertainment”, but generally, women did better in television this year. British telly was particularly strong, full of complex and nuanced female narratives and roles: Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Honourable Woman; Sarah Lancashire in Happy Valley and Keeley Hawes in Line of Duty were highlights.

Politics and silver screen

In film, Nicole Perlman, co-screenwriter on one of the highest grossing movies of the year, Guardians of the Galaxy, made history: she is the first woman with a writing credit on a Marvel movie. A Women’s Aid petition to save women’s refuges garnered 38,000 signatures. Elsewhere, Ukip leader Nigel Farage suggested breastfeeding mothers should sit in the corner and not be “openly ostentatious”. The jokes wrote themselves.

She shoots, she scores!

Irish striker Stephanie Roche was nominated for the Fifa Puskás Award for goal of the year, with James Rodríguez and Robin van Persie.

Tech woes

Uber executive Emil Michael was overheard suggesting digging up dirt on critics in the media. One target was PandoDaily editor Sarah Lacy, a vocal critic of the taxi app. In December a female customer in New Delhi accused a driver of rape.