The woman to remember

In 2024, Gisèle Pelicot emerges as an icon for women all over the world in her resolute and audacious fight for justice against sexual assault

- SHUTAPA PAUL

As the year wanes, several lists will flood your feed—man of the year, woman of the year, person of the year; here are the top moments and leaders that etched a mark in our minds, best historic moments of 2024, etc., and so forth. No doubt that wily politicians, industrious business people, talented creative folk, and competitive sports persons and their accompanying episodes will rule the listicles. When I look back at the year gone by, among the saturated mass of overachievers, one unlikely figure stands tall—Gisèle Pelicot. Both her tragedy and her courage are unique, and yet, when the world expected nothing more, she went a step further and reaffirmed why she, an otherwise ordinary woman, has achieved the extraordinary. And for that feat, Pelicot is, for me, the person of the year, and I’ll explain why.