The year-ender gender quiz: Heroes, villains and the year in gender

1. For turning down her legal right to anonymity in a mass rape trial, saying she had done nothing wrong and that “shame must change sides”, this 72-year-old grandmother from France is a hero around the world. Her name?

2. India’s first medal at the Paris Olympics was picked up by a woman. Her name is:

Manu Bhaker
Deepa Malik
Avani Lekhara
Sheetal Devi

3. This women’s team did what their male counterparts haven’t been able to do for 16 years. They won the WPL trophy. Who was the team and who did they beat?

4. It’s #1 on Barack Obama’s film recommendations of the year. Also #1 on New York Times’ best films of 2024. Two Golden Globe nominations. And now competing in the Oscars. Name the director of this film that continues to make waves (bonus for naming the film as well).

5. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from competing for gold in Paris because:

She was over the prescribed weight limit for her category
She was arrested for protesting against sexual harassment by former Wrestling Federation head Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
She withdrew from competition after dehydration
She had to fly back home due to a medical emergency

6. Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won gold in boxing. The controversy surrounding her win was because:

She made her opponent cry
She failed a dope test
Her detractors questioned her gender
She failed the weight eligibility requirement

7. The highest paid female athlete for 2024 according to Forbes is:

Naomi Osaka
Coco Gauff
PV Sindhu
Caitlin Clark

8. Elon Musk said donations by this woman worth billions of dollars to charities for women, minorities and marginalised groups was “destroying western civilisation”. Her response? To double her donations. Can you name the woman?

At home

9. In August, the Malayalam film industry was rocked by the release of a report that found widespread sexual exploitation of women, overall pathetic working conditions, and the enforcement of a code of silence by a mafia of powerful men. What was the name of the report?

10. Which political party fielded the highest percentage of women candidates in India’s general election?

11. Which single constituency had the most number of women candidates in general election 2024 (hint: it’s in Maharashtra)?

12. As the campaign for the general election kicked off, these two wives took centre-stage because their husbands had been jailed in separate cases. Their names?

13. This state became the first in independent India to pass a uniform civil code earlier this year. It is:

Goa
Himachal Pradesh
Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh

14. True or false?

India’s female labour force participation continued to decline this year
One in three women is subjected to domestic violence
In percentage terms, India has the most women pilots in the world
In absolute numbers, India has the world’s largest number of child brides

And elsewhere

Afghan girls attend a class at a primary school in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Sept. 8.

15. By the end of the year, if you were a woman in Afghanistan you could not:

Travel unaccompanied by a male guardian
Study medicine or nursing or anything beyond primary school
Recite prayers in public
Look at a man other than your husband or blood relative
All of the above

16. This 76-year-old began the year with her fourth straight term, making her the longest serving incumbent woman leader anywhere in the world. By the end of the year, she had fled the country and is now fighting extradition. Can you name her?

17. The first country in the world to amend its Constitution in order to enshrine abortion rights is:

Canada
Spain
France
Iceland

18. The United States failed to elect its first woman president, but its neighbour to the south, Mexico did. She is the first female elected head of state in all of North America. Can you name her?

19. Women employees of this US-company filed a lawsuit for being paid systematically less than men. The company agreed to pay them $43.3 million to settle the lawsuit. Name the company.

20. Yes, that indeed is Taylor Swift. Over 149 concerts, her Eras tour raked in $2.1 billion in sales—twice that of any other concert tour in history. Through it all she released her 11th studio album. What’s it called?

Answers

1. Gisele Pelicot faced all 51 men, including her husband Dominique, in court. On December 19, Dominique was given the maximum 20-year sentence while the others were sentenced to between three and 15 years.

2. Manu Bhaker won India’s first medal (a bronze) in the women’s air rifle 10m and then clinched a second bronze in the mixed team 10m. In doing so, the 22-year-old from Jhajjar became the first athlete in independent India to win two medals at a single Olympics. Inexplicably, her name was missing from the list of Khel Ratna awardees, considered the highest sporting honour in India.

3. After finishing fourth in the previous season, Royal Challengers Bangalore brought their first trophy home by beating Delhi Capitals by eight wickets.

4. All We Imagine As Light directed by Payal Kapadia is a beautifully told tale of the friendship between three women. Although it was not chosen by the Film Federation of India to represent the country in the Oscars for best international feature, it will now compete independently for all categories including best picture, director and original screenplay.

5. It’s (i). Hours before her gold medal match, Phogat weighed in at 100gm over the 50 kg weight restriction. She had spent the previous night, skipping, running, sweating it out in the sauna and even cutting off her hair but failed to make the cut.

6. The answer is (iii). Even though Imane is born female, listed as female on her passport and identified as female all her life, it didn’t stop an ugly controversy erupting over her gender. Later, Italian boxer Angela Carini who abandoned her bout after 46 seconds said she “wants to apologise” for how she handled her moments after the fight.

7. With earnings of $34.4 million in 2024, Coco Gauff at 20 is the year’s highest paid woman athlete, earning money not just $9.4 million from her wins but another $25 million from her brand endorsements.

8. Mackenzie Scott, the former wife of Jeff Bezos, has donated over $19 billion to more than 2,450 non-profits focused on issues such as racial equity, social justice and LGBTQ rights since 2019. Her net worth remains above $30 billion thanks to the Amazon stock she owns.