Five Indians, including Bollywood actor Sunny Leone, have made it to the BBC 100 Women 2016, a list of the most “inspirational and influential women” chosen by the news network. The Indians on the list are Gouri Chindarkar from Sangli in Maharashtra, Mallika Srinivasan from Chennai, Neha Singh from Mumbai and Saalumarada Thimmakka from Karnataka, besides the actor.

Leone, a former adult film actor, has featured in several Bollywood films including Jism 2, Hate Story 2 and Mastizaade. Chindarkar is a 20-year-old computer engineering student who was one of the first children in India to learn from what is now known as the “School in the Cloud”, a network managed by Sugata Mitra where students collaborate over the internet to learn a variety of topics. Srinivasan, known as the “tractor queen” of India, is the Chief Executive Officer of Tractors and Farm Equipment, the third largest manufacturer of tractors in the world.

Singh, an actor and writer, founded a campaign for the right of women to access public spaces in Mumbai without being harassed. Thimmakka, the oldest woman on the list at 105, has planted more than 8,000 trees in 80 years. This project began after she was ridiculed for not being able to have children.

The list also includes singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and author Corinne Maier. The BBC will broadcast programmes and also publish online reports on the women included in the list. A third of the women are below the age of 30, while several are above 80 years old. The network’s programme, which began on November 21, will last for three weeks.