No matter how hard the challenge is, giving up is not an option.

ariniaina

Once upon a time

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• 2010 VOF Week 3

Talking about barriers, the first thing that comes to my mind is a little experience I had few years ago. I was 24. I had a good job, I will not say well paid but secured. As our house was a little bit far from my office and I spent hours in buses and traffic, I thought of renting a little appartment nearer and starting to learn to live by my own. I tell you, it was so hard to try to convince my family including aunts, uncles, cousins and grand parents. For all of them, according to Malagasy culture, it would be odd to see a young unmarried girl living alone.

I am not against culture and traditions but some of them are so barbarians. These barbarian ideas brought by traditions are the barriers to women emancipation in Madagascar. For those who read my article about gender equality would remember the story of a man who did not want to clean his baby, believing that this was a woman duty. I have another example. My sister had just given birth under caesarian. Her husband, working in a family business was obliged by his father to come back to work, leaving my sister and the baby alone home as soon as they left the hospital. My brother in law's father then said that giving birth and taking care of the baby are just female matters.

The challenge is hard since people are not ready lo leave their "belief" and habits. It is hard because people do not like to be told that they were wrong. It is hard because people do not want to break the rules of the society in order to be respected. It is hard because even most of women accept the situation.

No matter how hard the challenge is, giving up is not an option. Two little things I could do until now to bring change within my community were through my teaching and through the articles I wrote in a local newspaper and on my blogs. They may not have great impact but I cannot wait to start. I prefer using the humble means I have.

Thanks to communities like Pulse Wire, women are awaken and strengthened, where women feel involved. Yet, I am sorry to tell this but the challenge is also to bring these women to Pulse Wire, even before that, to internet. How many Malagasy women are we in Madagascar? How many of us are on Pulse Wire? Access to internet should be eased and more trainings about its use should be given while sensitizing them to share their voice on Pulse Wire for example in order to give them reason to use internet.