Ten Women reveal the differing challenges they face in their Daily Lives by The Independent / UK 8:51am 9th Mar, 2006   8 March 2006    Hayley Brown, 31 Hotel Reservations Manager, Kent    "Education for children is a huge issue, especially in areas where more homes are being built, but not enough schools to accommodate them as they go from primary to secondary education. Family is also a big issue for me. I"m lucky my company is amenable to working mothers, so I can work and be there for my children, just as my husband Wesley can put them to bed and see them in the morning, alongside working."    Elena Suarez, 33 Secondary School Teacher, Madrid    "I"m lucky to have a stable job, unlike most of my friends, and I plan to advance in my profession. But the big worry is how to make this compatible with family life. I"m married and want children, but in Spain we finish our studies later, and leave home later, so time presses. We are an educated generation of women, but we think we haven"t achieved what we"d hoped. Everything is more difficult than we thought."    Degitu Jabana, 24 Were Seyo, Ethiopia    "My baby, Temeru, was born last year and we"re lucky to be alive. I"ve lost so many friends from complications in childbirth. Fortunately I was given a Caesarean section and a blood transfusion. My life was saved by Maternity Worldwide. I"m pregnant again, though, and live a day"s walk from hospital. There is no local clinic and no trained midwives anywhere near where I live."    Bonifride Rutijanwa, 29 Training Officer, Rwanda    "The most important issue facing women in Rwanda is empowering them to become more active at a local level and giving them more control over family planning and sexual health. Thanks to education the situation is improving. Young girls are going to school and performing well. We even have women elected as local leaders."    Wang Zhaohui, 37 Film Producer, Beijing    "I grew up believing Mao Zedong"s phrase that "women hold up half the sky". But then I moved to Australia and saw that people there have equal opportunity. The issue facing women in China is to become more independent. Women still have to respect their husbands, and are so insecure. Women need to show more "socialism with Chinese characteristics"."    Shanti Devi, 50 Delhi    "The most important thing for women in India is to get a good education. When I was growing up, women were not sent to school. When my children were young, I had to work on a construction site to bring in enough money for the family. I carried bricks on my back. If I"d been to school, I wouldn"t have had to do such a tough job. I made sure my own daughter got a proper education. Delhi is dangerous for women these days. We have to go with a male relative, or it is risky. My grand-daughter is five years old now. Her life will be better than mine."    Sophia Artin Director Of Galeasan Theatre, Stockholm    "The main issue is that women have to cope with so many responsibilities at any one time, such as family, work and friends. Women are still expected to organise everything and it"s not unusual for women to fall ill because of such pressures. It feels like people expect you to succeed in everything you do and that you have to be available for everybody all the time. Even so, I don"t think this is a matter for the government. If change starts with the family, progress will be made generation by generation."    Emily Luke, 22 Charity Worker, New York    "My biggest challenge today is just going to be to see how many hours I have to work. I wear so many hats at the Do Something charity that encourages young people in the city to get involved in community service programmes. Right now I"m trying to assemble the next issue of the charity"s magazine."    Samira Sardari, 27 Sports Coach, Tehran    "What women want is a bit of peace. Most come to get away from stress not to get fit. They have marital problems or family difficulties. Some turn to drugs instead - half of the women in my aerobics class are on sedatives. Society is putting pressure on them and they get depressed. And it isn"t just one class - it cuts across society."    Margaret Mwale, late 30s Agricultural Worker, Malawi    "I am HIV positive and my most difficult challenge is staying healthy. It is important everyone knows their status, as you can have drugs that helped me to keep my weight and eat. [My boss] encouraged me to keep taking the drugs. HIV doesn"t only affect people we work with."
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