Malawi reports: Here, girls are all ready for wives.

"When I was 18 years old, I came to Malawi from Zimbabwe and the Taiwan Medical Corps was my first job. At that time I had just graduated from high school, no work experience, is to do, while learning. "rebecca sat in the chair opposite me to receive the visit, the camera rolling, we chatted about her youth. In the face of the lens, her look relaxed, do not know is a young time, or rare to accept foreign media access, is already two children mother she is difficult to cover the excitement, eyes have a girl's light harvest.

This summer, women were fascinated by the completion of the Carlsberg Foundation and headed to the Southeast African landlocked country of Malawi. The plane touches the ground, glide in the capital, Lang Wei, under the sun, the window is a look endless red earth continent.

One day, from the capital to the northern city of Muzuzu (Mzuzu), the next day, the first interview, visiting the executive director of the Carlsberg Foundation Rebecca.

It was Sunday evening, she walked into the office full of vitality, neatly removed the peach purse, stretched out her hands to hold us warm. Rebecca is not tall, stepping on the heels of the feet have taken the road very long: from Zimbabwe to Malawi, from the girl to the mother, from the rookie to the Director, also witnessed Taiwan and Malaysia from the two countries still have diplomatic relations, to China to replace Taiwan's now.

Rebecca Picture Source | The Carlsberg Foundation

The authorities will leave, but the fetters will stay.

Taiwan's medical corps immediately returned to the station for safety. The break-up meant that the Taiwan people had no diplomatic protection in the Malawi. Listen to local staff describing the scene of the breakup ten years ago, almost fleeing. Even if the physician receives half of the diagnosis, he will have to follow the SOP, put down his stethoscope, pack his bags, and prepare for a ride away.

There are some Taiwanese in the medical regiment who cannot turn away. The illness looked long, the doctor patient between, also has the emotion. If a friend has pain, you will have pain. Pain is a line of fetters, continuous traction, continuous summoning. If the footsteps don't open, they will take the risk and try to stay. This is also the story of the bi-Carlsberg Foundation.

Figure | Source

After the break-up, they returned to the hometown of International, Norway, and returned to Malawi in the name of Luke Service, the International Service organization. Teenage Rebecca also followed the Taiwanese, from the Medical Corps, to the road Gary continued to serve, now she has become Luke International in Malawi, the first level of director, two daughters of the mother.

She has a deep bond with Taiwan, and the Taiwanese are not only staying, but also cultivating her growth.

After working with the Taiwan Medical Corps, Rebecca saw many needs to be answered and needed her ability to upgrade. She was more expectant of herself and began to take courses at the City University, and joined Luke International at this time. At that time, Luke International, only a Taiwanese and Rebecca, she is responsible for handling administrative and external communication matters. While working at the same time, pursuing personal goals-a master's degree, and taking care of family members. "It's not easy to think back to that time, yes, it's not easy," she said repeatedly. (worth reading: Should I quit my job and be a full-time housewife?) )

"Baby, Mom, I need your support."

"I often work, reading to very late, at that time work 10-12 hours a day, very hard, but the work partner gave me a lot of spiritual support." 」

That support, she said, was "believing". "They believe I can do it." This belief in itself is the power that keeps me moving forward. Yes, I certainly believe in myself, but I still need someone else to tell me, yes, you can do it. This gives me the power to keep going. 」

Rebecca Picture Source | The Carlsberg Foundation

Not only the work partner support, she also has the family's assistance. "I used to take the child to my mother's house," she laughed, as if she was embarrassed, "I also hope not to be too disturbed, short-term please her to help care, let me more fully focused to achieve the goal." 」

But she also worries, is the time given to the children not enough? "I told my children," I did it for us. I need your support, you can give the support is: This period of time, first with my mother, I can in this time more focused and faster to achieve goals. 』」

Rebecca the child as an independent person, in order to honestly discuss and not even coax to cheat, let the child know that mother is not omnipotent Superman, I have goals to achieve, you would like to do my teammates support me. The child will also know that I have the ability to give the mother energy, my existence is good, is expected.

The mother does not have to sacrifice, there will be no love in the name of the emotional blackmail. The child gave her the support she was giving back to her child. "I have two daughters, and I make sure they get a better education because, as we know, good education helps children define themselves, for example she will know what I want in the future, what I can do, and what kind of person I'm going to be." 」

"I don't want society to have a gender role in deciding the future of daughters, and I'm not interfering with their decisions, but I want to do what I can to give them the choice they need." 」

"I thank my children, and in their cooperation, I have achieved my goals and become the people I want to be, so I also hope that they will achieve their goals with my support." "She paused," but it's not easy, especially in Malawi, where society expects men to be successful and women's success is not recognized by society. Education is the key, because if you do not educate girls, it will strengthen the male's superior position. 」

Malawi father, seldom aware of the family responsibilities of making money outside

In fact, I was in the conversation just now that I was guessing that Rebecca was a single mother, because the father's role was absent from the sharing of housework and care. I beat the bush, she listens to the core of the problem, laughing at Malawi, it is difficult to let her husband do any housework. (Read more: love to take care of you and not do housework?) Korean drama didn't See? Korea "big Man" episode )

"They don't do housework at all, and they ignore children." Men think they are more important than women, so they say, I can't wash dishes, and doing these things can hurt their self-esteem. 」

"Malawi women like me, of course, feel unfair, because I think we are equal." I can change my own light bulb, I don't need a man to change it for me. So if we eat together, I don't think they have a reason to take the dishes to the sink and wash them. "We all laughed," Anyway, I'm glad I survived. 」

However, the gender conflict is not obvious to our foreign visitors. Malawi mild, heavy etiquette, called the warm heart of Africa. Here was a British colony, the car drove in the loess, often see the elderly men full suit shoes, in the hot world to walk, by domestic flights, men will be gentle greetings "how is you" and shake hands with you, seated, also speak gentleman "lady first".

But if you live in a local area, it involves the allocation of resources, always "male first". Gender inequality is increasingly evident, especially in the context of limited resources.

In the photo, there are boys and girls, young children, the same gender-like hairstyle, by clothing to identify gender.

If you can only send one child to school, what is your choice?

Malawi is poor, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF, International Monetary Fund), 2018 Malawi is the world's third-poorest country. In the absence of the internal Warring States rankings, Malawi is the world's first poor, the national GDP per capita of about 350 U.S. dollars a day, households can dominate the income, about about 1.9 dollars.

When a family has a limited budget to pay for tuition, it has to face the choice of which child to go to school. "Usually people choose boys, even though that girl is a lot smarter than boys," Rebbecca says. 」

What are the girls staying at home doing? "is to learn to do housework, drawing, cleaning, washing, cooking, serving men." 」

Not only women, but also local men confirmed the situation. Another Malawi Patrick, who worked at the job, described the childhood here, "as far as I am concerned, I get up at about six o'clock in the morning in the morning and go to school, but girls have to get up at 34 o ' clock in the wee hours, walk with their mother a few kilometers away to fetch water, clean the house, and prepare breakfast." He shrugged. The boy just got up and went to school just to have a full breakfast. 」

The city is also common with the daily necessities of women trekking

Why are boys always first? is also economic-oriented considerations: If the girl sooner or later to marry to other families, to serve others, the resources placed on her, equal to the money to give people. On the other hand, having a girl at home means a lot of the burden of eating.

The Malawi, who live on the poverty line, have only about NT $60 per day of disposable income, and often can only gu meals in front of the day.

Photo source | The bi-Carlsberg Foundation

In the street market of Malawi, common stalls sell small packages of oil, salt and sugar. This is the result of insufficient cash flow for residents. Buy a can of the original package of oil, will consume more than a day of cash, buy vendors of sub-package, you do not have to worry because buy a can of oil, no money to buy other food ingredients.

Every meal must be preoccupied, to raise a girl at home, as early as let her marry. Marriage can also receive dowry, gift. The beauty of a marriage is essentially selling the girl out. It is important for girls to be able to enter the marriage market and learn early about the skills of cleaning, cooking, washing and other housewives.

A culture that trains girls into slavery-like

"All the girls are preparing wives, from childhood to be educated as wives, to take care of all the housework!" It's good for men to be home as big as grandpa. "The third afternoon of Malawi, orange hair tina--local community development staff--can't help complaining.

tina| Photo Source: The Bi-Carlsberg Foundation

At the moment we are standing in the Muzuzu District Street, traffic noise, she said very loudly, uneven sound suppressed, the volume is getting bigger, a Malawi man passed, looked back at us.

Tina, about 35, is passionate, and she is also a happy fruit, where she always laughs. Tina's parents are college graduates of the intellectuals, born in the economic and cultural capital of the family, "my parents gave birth to two daughters, of course, two of our girls as treasure Ah!" "She triumphantly eyebrows and has a special confidence in the children who are hurting.

Until leaving home to go to college, reading remote community Development (Rural Community Development), to the country service, she saw the general status of Malawi, speaking, the volume of sound is big again: "The woman went out to fetch water, grind corn flour, clean home, cook for the man to eat, So you know what those men are doing? is to lie in bed and drink from morning till night! Some drank wine and beaten wives and children. 」

But women are resigned to the habit, "they have been so trained since childhood, is simply regarded as a home slave." 」

Malawi is still one of the countries with the highest rates of child marriage in the world, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) statistics. In the Malawi of 2018, if you meet 10 15-year-olds on the road, one of them is usually a wife, and by the age of 18, 42% of girls have entered marriage. (Extended reading: the world must face up to the issue of child marriage: I'm 12 years old, I don't want to get married )

Because of the early marriage time, most of the girls mengmengdongdong marriage. Malawi journalist/Vice President Munthali in his new book "Malawi-culture smart! , Malawi has a "bridal center" to provide marriage counseling. Most of the courses teach girls how to please their husbands, whether in the family or on sex, the male journalist is indignant in the book, "This is tantamount to making the bride into a class slave (semi-slaves)!" 」

Domestic violence is a serious problem that has long been concealed, and girls are taught from the young: marriage is tolerance. This has led women to remain silent even if they suffer.

Figure | Source

Our itinerary included visits to widows ' mothers, and the widows ' children were often excitedly surrounded by cameras, mostly girls or children. One by one greetings, only to know that some "maiden" is 28 years of age of adult women. Did you ask them to get married? Most of the quiet nod, implicit explanation, because the husband "improper treatment (home violence)", she chose to return to her mother.

Those around the girl, not her brother and sister, but her children.

Next Trailer | Malawi report: Why educate a girl to save a country

If you want | To make her choice: Walk into school, master Destiny .

Editorial PostScript:

Have you ever wondered why women were trained to do housework when they were young?

I was born in a favorite family, when I was a child do not have to do housework, of course, do not cook, but busy with a variety of talent classes. Mother sometimes while washing vegetables side sigh, hey, I reluctant to let you do housework, but you will marry out how to do, will suffer? And then muttered, "only hope your husband will do the housework." 」

We often say that Taiwan is already a country with more equality in Asia, but when it comes to Malawi, the archetype of marriage is suddenly clear, at the beginning of the system design, marriage is really the female training as a kind of slavery. Do you remember the child bride that appeared in Taiwanese vernacular dramas? The gap between Taiwan and Malawi is not so far away.

After Taiwan women are educated, have their own aspirations to pursue, want to choose the right partner, now the age of marriage is generally late.

However, the law of Taiwan, the Civil law 980: "Men under 18 years of age, women under 16 years of age, shall not be married." "Why is it that women are still less marriage than men?" This question, give everyone to answer.