Mahira Khan, Sania Nishtar featured on BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women for 2020

The BBC has revealed its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2020 and representing Pakistan on the list are actor Mahira Khan and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Sania Nishtar.

This year, 100 Women is highlighting those who are leading change and making a difference during these turbulent times.

Sania has been featured under the knowledge category and Mahira under creative.

Reacting to the news, Sania said she was "truly honoured to be on the list of BBC 100 women who have made a difference in 2020!"

Mahira and Sania are in the stellar company of 98 other accomplished women, including Sanna Marin, who leads Finland's all-female coalition government; Michelle Yeoh, star of the new Avatar and Marvel films; Sarah Gilbert, who heads the Oxford University research into a coronavirus vaccine; and Jane Fonda, a climate activist and actress.

Also featured on the list are Bilkis from India who, at 82, was part of a group of women who peacefully protested against a controversial citizenship law; and Syrian plant virologist Safaa Kumari, who after discovering seeds that could safeguard food security in Syria, risked her life to rescue them from Aleppo.

Afghanistan's Laleh Osmany, the activist who started the WhereIsMyName campaign, is also featured. This year, after a three-year fight, the Afghan government agreed to record women's names on national ID cards and their children's birth certificates.

Read: 'Where Is My Name?': Afghan campaign to include mothers' names on ID cards stirs heated debate

One name on the 100 Women list has been left blank as a tribute "in an extraordinary year when countless women around the world have made sacrifices to help others".

"Though BBC 100 Women cannot name every woman across the globe who has made a contribution, this space is designed to allow you to think of the people who have had an impact on you, over the course of 2020."

See the full list here.