After these experiences, I wanted to tell positive stories of ordinary human beings. All of the people in these stories share something in common: a fight for equality and a better future. Despite living under difficult circumstances such as political unrest, economic uncertainty or social stigmatisation, all of the people had something in common: resilience, empathy and courage.Courage and resilience come to mind when thinking about the village of Awra Amba in Ethiopia. In this short film below, both men and women share their thoughts on what gender equality means to them in practice.
The men seek out roles that are traditionally considered a woman's work in Ethiopia - such as cooking, spinning cotton and carrying water. While the women, like Merkab, who is a weaver (traditionally a male role), says that 'I think women need to speak up about what they are capable of. We shouldn't let ourselves down'.
These are people who we might never meet in real life, or whose stories we may never come across through mainstream media. The power of these stories lies not only in the subject matter, but they defy the danger of a single story by not reinforcing stereotypes. They are powerful because they can widen our perspectives and our worldview.
