“But if the family she will be married in is poor, we will definitely help her. We are getting my daughter educated, because we want her to be able to earn a living. If she will marry into a family that is not well off, we will help her.”
Meerabai Kamle, farmer & secretary in women’s federation, India

“When my husband died my in-laws took away everything from me. So I had no options. I couldn’t take my kids to school. I couldn’t watch my kids staying at home, so I opted for this profession. The stigma is very much, you can’t even go to church, participate in what people in the community are doing, because they see you as an enemy. We are shunned out, because of this profession.”Cynthia, sex worker, Zimbabwe

“The truth is that living in a place where my father abused my mother both physically and psychologically turned me into hard woman. I didn’t want anyone to hit me, didn’t want anyone to tell me what to do with my money, nor with my life, nor what kind of clothes I should wear or whatever. To do something because someone else is my boss. I belief that right now I have a companion, I don’t feel like his slave, he doesn't feel like my slave.
Yanina, academic teacher, Buenos Aires

“I fought two years to achieve that, but I didn’t succeed. That was much more difficult for me. But what I couldn’t do then, I am doing now.”
Lupe Intriago Mera, president cacao association, Ecuador

“We may separate roles from a human point of view but in the eyes of god we are all equal and god can chose whom to use at a given time in history, whether from a human point of view you have been given a specific role or postion or not.”
Silver Opio, priest, Uganda

“…because they are holding whatever is troubling them, within them. They can’t express how they feel, they always let their ego control them. They want to be seen, they want to be praised, they want to be on top. So if they can see women and actually understand that it’s okay to be yourself, it’s okay to do things your own way, you don’t have to impress your friends or the neighbours, in our community it would become better for men.”
Lazola Nkelenjane, intern Desmond Tutu Hiv Foundation, South Africa

“If you are Born Again the bible tells us you cannot drink, you can’t make abortion, you cannot be a prostitute. So if you go to church they teach you about how to take care of your family, how to commit to your wife children, they encourage you to grow up your family.”
Agnes Akello, seamstress, Uganda

“Look at my mother who is always fighting for us, she was always trying to get us ahead, she was always with us. My mother has to do it all alone, without help from anybody, because my father is always drinking. He is drinking every day. He is drinking the money my mother has earned the hard way. “
Kattya Dimelsa Choque Alizaras, incapacitated mine worker, Bolivia

“When there is no food you have to fight hard to bring food. When there is no soap, there is no money, you have to work hard even if the wife earns less, but it’s up to you as a man to work hard and provide everything at your home.”
Ezra Mawale, community worker, Zambia

“We want to be more than just women who take care of the children and the house. We want to have our space in the coffee production and our voice heard around the world.”
Vânia Lucia Pereira da Silva, vice president Coopfam, Brazil.

“We were raised traditional, that women have to do everything for the men, but now we should change our mind. The second is we need to change the men. Sometimes to change the minds of the men is easier than to change the women and that they then have to influence the men.”
Pham Thanh Tam, Office Assistant Agriterra, Vietnam

“The decisions about the work and organisation of the family are always made by the man.”
Cecilio Cuchicari Cilliani, guinea pig farmer, Peru

“I just followed and never fought against him. Because I would feel ashamed if the neighbours would know about it. If my family would find out I went against my husband, because I chose him. I wanted to marry him, so I felt responsible.”
Herlina br Marmata, Coffee farmer, Sumatra

“The initiative to start MOBI was taken by the women themselves, because they were part of the production but they had no voice in the cooperative and they wanted to participate more in the live of the production of coffee, in the life of their husband, who was a member of the cooperative. They didn’t become members before because their husband didn’t want it, but because of the culture of the region. When they started, their husband felt very thankful to know that the women wanted to take part in the society life and in the cooperative.”
Clemilson José Pereira, president Coopfam & coffee producer, Brazil

“The women themselves aren’t brave enough, they need a chance. If they don’t have a chance they just stay quiet. But if they get a chance and understand about their role and how potential they are then they can have a right and make a decision.”
Vanntha, founder and managing director Color Silk, Phnom Penh

“It's funny that some women here think ‘If you don't hit me, you don't love me.’ We need to work together to empower the women and to bring about change.”
Lydia, musician and social activist, Niarobi

“Now I can confidently talk to strangers and interact with them, which is a mayor thing for me. I can talk with anybody and I am confident with people.”
Pappubai, farmer and treasurer in women’s federation, India

“... because that is marriage, because you are together. If I would take the decisions or she would take the decisions, it’s not a marriage. Then we would be entirely on our own, single.”
Fabian, caretaker apartment building, Buenos Aires

“Actually I am independent. And I am waiting to develop myself. I don’t want to live dependent on someone else, because I am afraid that if I get a family that person can’t take care of me. So we have to be able to take care of ourselves first.”
Sreypov, English teacher, Phom Penh

“My husband benefits, but for me it is even more important, because during the menstrual period it is not possible to change the pads in the house and I can now change my pads in the toilet. I even have an incineration facility in the bathroom to burn the used pads.”
Buvgneshwari, farm labourer, India

“It's not just the man who is violent to his wife, the woman is also violent to her child and to her husband (usually verbally). In order to reduce the violence between a man and a woman, you must know what you want, what hurts you and to learn to express that much better and to communicate about it with the ones you love, instead of resorting to physical or verbal abuse.”
Ivonne, social entrepreneur and founder Human Culture Foundation, Mendoza

“In my family I am equal to my husband. We discuss everything together before we decide.”
Tu, basket weaver, Nong Cong (Vietnam)

“Since I was in primary school I got the moral education saying men and women should be treated the same. We should be free to choose our spouses. But in reality some of my friends are told by their parents to marry specific persons and they can't say no because they are female.”
Gerard, headhunter, Jakarta

When Srem tells us she has a good husband, her mother-in-law explains why he is such a good man: "Before he only lived with me. He never knew his father, because his father was killed during the Red Khmer regime. That is the reason that he has become a good guy who respects his mother and his wife."
Srem, weaver of silk and cotton fabric, Trapieng Sdok villae (Cambodia).

“When I started to buy and resell seafood my husband still went fishing. When my business grew and I needed support, my husband stayed home and supported me. Now I am owner of the business and my husband is doing the hard work.”
Dau, owner of clean water and ice business, Hoang Hoa (Vietnam)

“The problem of the family in Cambodia is that they have no education and they don’t understand each other. Sometimes the men just don’t care about the family, go away and have a party. But if they would have education and quality of thinking, that would change much in the family.”
Phalleng, Social Performance manager LOLC microfinance, Phnom Penh 

“... I don't want to be stuck in that perspective. Being married and having a family is the highest level of being a woman in Indonesia. If I was a boy I would have the change to get a better education. All the guys in small towns in Indonesia think they are superior and that they have the authority, That's just wrong.”
Novita, coordinator sanitation project for Water.org, Jakarta

“What would make me most happy is that my husband stays with me at home, even if he would have a party or drink with some friends that’s okay, but that he doesn’t go to Phnom Penh and gets drunk, stuff like that.”
Vannary, farmer in the outskirts of Phnom Penh

“Women are more open to innovation and sustainability.”
Jose Tonello (Bepi), retired CEO of cooperative, Ecuador