How does poverty affect women?
Mary: Poverty is a very big problem. In the past, when we talked about people living below the poverty line, we referred to people who survived on US$1 a day. Now women are the poorest of the poor. They survive on less than a dollar a day. We need to work together with men to achieve more in life. NA: What will you say are some of the achievements made by women this century? Mary: At the beginning of the century, many women had no access to education or the right to vote. We were actually considered second class citizens. Even in developed countries, many women could not vote. Worldwide, men regarded women as incapable of doing anything beyond the kitchen and the bedroom. Today, after many hard struggles, women have access to employment, education and the vote. We have really achieved a lot this century. NA: What is left then? Mary: There’s still a lot more to do. On the labour market, women are still at the bottom of the pyramid. In Africa, a lot of laws are obsolete and need changing
