BBC 100 Women 2015: 10 men fighting for gender equality

For International Men's Day, the BBC's 100 Women salutes 10 men who champion gender equality.

Aziz Ansari, American-Indian comedian and actor

"You're a feminist if you go to a Jay-Z and Beyoncé concert and you're not like, 'I feel like Beyoncé should get 23 percent less money than Jay-Z,' says Mr Ansari

• Made sexism subject of 2014 stand-up show Live At Madison Square Garden; followed up with Letterman interview calling for equality in entertainment industry.

Justin Trudeau, new Canadian prime minister

Justin Trudeau is Canada's 23rd prime minister

• Campaigned as a "proud feminist". His cabinet is the first in Canadian history to have equal numbers of women and men - at 15 of each.

• When asked why he felt it important to have a gender-equal cabinet, he replied "because it's 2015".

Saad Mohseni, Afghanistan's first media mogul - heads Tolo TV

Mr Mohseni says putting men and women on the same set "elevated women to an equal status with men, and it allowed men not to be so judgmental of women".

• Forty per cent of Mr Mohseni's employees are women. Some have received death threats for broadcasts, including an Indian soap opera with unveiled women; a show in which women compete directly with men; and an exclusively female daytime phone-in.

Ali Erkazan, Turkish actor who led protests after the murder of 20-year-old female student Ozgecan Aslan in February 2015

"The way of thinking that 'a woman wearing a miniskirt deserves rape' is sick," says Mr Erkazan

• Joined Turkish men protesting by wearing miniskirts in streets and on social media after Ozgecan Aslan was murdered by a minibus driver who had tried to rape her.

Stanley Nhlangothi, South African campaigner who set up New Image Rover Crew centre in KwaThema township in 1996

• Centre cares for vulnerable women who have been victims of domestic violence.

• "I have learned to work with women, which is something that I never thought I would do. I can see how they relate to things, how they think - and I now understand their perspective," he says.

Vikas Bahl, director who made a viral video in response to outrage at gang rape and murder of young student on bus in Delhi in 2012

• Video showed woman being offered help by group of men after car breaks down on lonely road; although the men seem predatory, they simply give her a lift home. The film's message was the woman's expectations that the men would not hurt her should be the norm.

• "I wanted to visualise a utopia for women, where, unlike today, mistrust and fear don't dictate actions and decisions," he says.

Liang Xiaojun, Chinese human rights lawyer and founder member of China Against The Death Penalty

"Whether they [the government] are detaining lawyers or preventing them from leaving the country, they use the same charge. This is an abuse of the law, and a violation of citizens' rights," says Mr Xiaojun

• Liang Xiaojun defends Wu Rongrong, one of five Chinese protest leaders involved in the Occupy The Men's Toilets and Bloodstained Bride campaigns who were arrested in April 2015. A crackdown on lawyers in China began in July.

Vittorio Colao, Italian chief executive of Vodafone; champions He For She campaign

• Made gender equality in senior positions at Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile provider, a corporate ambition.

• He launched the foundation project - using networked remote classrooms - to educate three million girls in refugee camps by 2020.

Michael Kaufman, Canadian academic who set up White Ribbon campaign to stop male violence after shooting of 14 female students at University of Montreal in 1989

"Almost all humans currently live in systems of patriarchal power which privilege men and stigmatize, penalize, and oppress women," wrote Mr Kaufman.

• Defined seven 'Ps' of men's violence - patriarchal power; privilege; permission; the paradox of men's power; psychic armour; the psychic pressure cooker of masculinity; and past experiences.

Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor who spoke out over different ratings given to depictions of male and female sexuality on film

• Says scenes showing men receiving oral sex from women only receive R rating in US, but if roles reversed, they receive higher NC-17 rating - considered disastrous for a film's chances of being shown.

• He says: "Mainstream films often depict sex and violence in a manner that is disturbing and very far from reality. Yet, the MPAA regularly awards these films with a more audience-friendly rating, enabling our culture's desensitisation to violence, rape, torture and brutality."

100 Women 2015

This year's season features two weeks of inspirational stories about the BBC's 100 Women this year and others who are defying stereotypes around the world.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram using the hashtag #100Women. Listen to the programmes here.