For two years, Brazilians have been watching the growth of a movement that's being dubbed by experts and the media as the country's "Women’s Spring". Just as the "Arab Spring" happened in the Middle East, this wave is led by young people, was born on the internet and then spread to the real world. Suddenly, Brazilian women realised they were oppressed and started using social media to organise. Hashtags such as #MyFirstHarassment and #IDon'tDeserveToBeRaped went viral from one day to the next. Protests in the streets, whether with feminist demands or not, were led by women. Even school girls started demanding uniforms equal to the ones that boys wear. We became a political group to be feared and listened to.

Hold on, you say, was there no feminist movement in Brazil until then? Of course there was! It was a very inspiring one, by the way, but the internet helped us make feminism pop, make it accessible, make it democratic. And so we are reaching the Olympics with the level of maturity that finally gives us not only the institutions and leadership necessary to make change happen, but the numbers.

Women have historically been denied attention in the sporting world, but the Rio Games are so far showing promising signs that we'll be placed at the forefront – that we'll be made the protagonists. Juliana Faria, founder and director of Think Olga, a feminist think tank that has helped boost the Women's Spring, was invited to carry the Olympic torch with Maria da Penha, an iconic figure in our country’s fight against domestic violence.

"With the torch, Maria and I carried the Women's Rights flag", says Juliana. "In addition, that same day, a famous Brazilian singer called Biel was forbidden to carry the torch after he was caught sexually harassing a reporter. In my view, this decision was very coherent."