Co-convener of Bring Back Our Girls movement Aisha Yesufu and LGBTQ+ activist Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim have made the BBC 100 Women list for 2020.
The list was drawn from over 60 countries to celebrate inspiring and influential women who are leading change around the world.
The BBC says “one name on the 100 Women list has been left blank as a tribute” to women in such “an extraordinary year.”
Uyaiedu is the director of Nigeria’s first lesbian movie Ife while Yesufu has been actively demanding good governance and accountability.
Other Africans on the list include singer Angelique Kidjo, Kenyan doctor Jemimah Kariuki, Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan psychiatrist Ethel Nakimuli-Mpungu and Congolese journalist Douce Namwezi N’Ibamba.
Others are South African singer/songwriter Bulelwa Mkutukana, Mozambican social justice activist Josina Machel, South African activist Ishtar Lakhani and Zambian artist and curator Mulenga Kapwepwe.