Domestic Life

Meet ten women dedicated to creating homes that are safe, equal and free from violence.

Scrolling through social media or reading the news it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed. It can feel like any progress that might have been made is retracting, any hope we collectively had of things becoming more equal shrinks with every news update. But, if you take a closer look, there is hope, change is taking place, there are people out there working hard and pushing for a better future and making it happen in their own way. 

The Hope Brigade is an online exhibition that highlights some of these stories. It celebrates one hundred women from ten cities and countries around the world to chart the changes the women featured have seen in their own world and cast a light on the global picture. Focussing on ten different themes the exhibition, curated by WOW - Women of the World, looks at areas such as climate change, economy, culture, conflict and health. We have brought together the women featured in the Domestic Life section to highlight their stories and look at how they’re working to create homes for women that are safe and nurturing.

See the full collection here.

Anoushka Dowling, Assistant Director at MATE, Brisbane

“Ideas of equality, race, fairness and justice start in the home. My life is dedicated to creating homes and communities that are safe, equal and free from violence and discrimination. Being a cross-cultural adoptee, and a woman of colour, I am fiercely passionate about lessons learned in the home. I work, both personally and professionally, to ensure that we have a world where my children's worth and opportunities will not depend on their gender or their race. The celebration and liberation of women globally starts with each of us. When we have safety and equity, women can thrive and flourish.”

MATE - Motivating Action Through Empowerment.

Bernice Piana, Activist, Rio de Janeiro

"When a child is born with autism, the impact of it on a family depends on the family context and how these people were educated about differences between human beings and disabilities. I chose to fight and bring a minimum of dignity to these families, when they didn't even have an institutionalized law to guarantee their rights. It is necessary to feel and understand the reality of millions of people who do not "fit" the standards imposed by a selfish and silent society. Each day we must choose to get up and think: how can I be useful to my fellow human peers in this world in which I’m living? I choose to exist as an activist and serve for a purpose, whatever the context in which I am."

Berenice is the co-author of the constitutional right number 12.764, enacted on December 28, 2012, which bears her name: the Berenice Piana act. It is the first law in Brazil which instituted the National Policy for the Protection of the Rights of People with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Bobby Baker, Artist, London

"The skill, creativity and resilience of people working in the home is the bedrock of society. This work continues through pandemics, war, economic depression or prosperity and is still disproportionately done by women. Patriarchal systems world-wide persist in undervaluing domestic labour and the injustices that exist shine out more now than ever before. I’ve been making art about everyday life since I was a young woman. I believe that if you get it right for people undertaking the caring roles in society then you get it right for everyone."

Canan Arın, Lawyer, Turkey

“As a woman, I always worked freely for what I believed in. If you have a cause you believe in, you can achieve anything. The women’s movement in Turkey has always been very strong. While in the past family law used to be a completely macho system, we made sure that necessary rules were put in place for the protection of equality within the family. In the old penal code, when a woman was raped, this offence was considered to be against not the body of the woman, but public conduct and family order.

The female body was seen as a commodity in which the property rights passed from father to husband. The most striking examples of this were seen in honour killings, killings committed in the name of honour, within the framework of the old penal code. In the new penal code, these crimes are grouped under crimes against sexual freedoms, which indicated that the state recognized that people have sexual immunity.

The current government tends to ignore all kinds of violence - be it psychological, physical or sexual - within the family in order to protect the ‘family institution’. They ignore the individual rights of women since they define their role in the family only as wives and mothers. However, as women learn about their rights, they no longer accept being subjected to this violence. Divorce rates are also increasing accordingly.

The women’s movement is spreading faster and faster in Turkey in the last 40 years. During these years women’s research centres have been founded in universities, and there are centres by women’s organizations in almost every city. Women take to the streets and make themselves heard on 8th March and 25th November despite the police violence. Women are growing their movement consciously, knowing what they want. There have been disagreements about the Istanbul Convention even within the government itself. I want to have hope for the next ten years. We will continue to resist.”

Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, Writer and Professor, Baltimore, USA

"As a Black woman with two Black teenage sons, I know that America is not my home. Home is where you feel safe and where you belong. It is a place where my sons could walk free without fear or trepidation. They are Sankofa birds who are learning how to fly forward across this red, white, and blue landscape with rivers that run deep with the blood of innocent black and brown people while hopelessly keeping their heads turned in search of somewhere else. This feeling of Black restlessness, despair, frustration, and anger is not new. It always feels like our blood is on the leaves and at the roots, fertilizing the soil that feeds the American dream of white exceptionalism.

In 1852, Frederick Douglass noted that slavery was the great sin and shame in America; today, it is oppression, and it is white supremacy, and it is injustice. I have spent years helping my sons understand that for 400 years, Black people have tried to appeal to White America's humanity.

We have preached love and practiced non-violence even in the face of hatred and terror. We worked within the system, played by the rules, colored within the lines while desperately trying to prove our worth. Our blood wrote America's history. We tilled the soil, raised the crops, tamed the underbrush; but, we were not supposed to survive.

Yet we did not die. I tell my sons that they are strong. They are resilient. They are the descendants of men and women who chose survival as an act of rebellion."

Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead is Associate Professor of Communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland; the Founding Director of The Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social Justice; and, the host of Today with Dr. Kaye on radio station WEAA.

Hajuri Bista, Entrepreneur, Kathmandu

“I have always believed that there is no such thing as menial work! Every work whether it is in the kitchen or elsewhere, respect to your own work is a must for dignity lies in how you perceive your work.”

Hajuri owns the Nepali pickle brands, Navaras and Kitchen Recipe. She is Vice-Chairperson of the WEAN Co- operative, and the fourth Vice Chairperson of the Federation of Woman Entrepreneurs Associations of Nepal.

Malka, Baker, Kurdistan region of Iraq

“My name is Malaka, and I am from Khanasor in Shingal, and I am 32 years old. I made cakes before ISIS took over our village, and after we fled I wasn't able to work because I had to look after a sick family member for three years. I also had no money to get a business going again after we fled.

The Lotus Flower then provided funds to kickstart the Baking Sisters business, a bakery near the entrance of Rwanga (Qadiya) camp, where I live. Now I am able to spend the money I earn on my family and that is very good. I didn't know I would open a bakery, I thought baking would just be a part of my domestic life. I made cakes at home and sold them to people, though, until we had to flee. In the meantime, I saved money with the hope of opening my own bakery. The first three years of displacement, I couldn't do it, but now I finally have. It's wonderful. You know why? Because I am able to provide for my daughter, who was born in the first year of displacement - I wasn't able to do that before. I buy whatever she needs. I don't bring my daughter here right now, due to Covid-19, but before the virus, she was here with me every day.”

Parveen Saeed, Restaurant Owner, Karachi

"The world is running today because of the efforts, love and empathy of a few good people. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where we would be. I have seen extreme poverty and suffering – all I can do is to make sure whoever comes to my door does not go away hungry."

Parveen runs Khana Ghar, a small dhaba (roadside restaurant) in Khuda Ki Basti in Karachi, where she provides a full meal to anyone who wants to eat for only PKR 3 (£0.015 / $0.018).

Yinuo, volunteer at public welfare organization, Beijing

"In order to protect my legitimate rights in marriage, I started a journey of fighting for my rights. Along the way, I not only protected myself, but also started a new life chapter, helping to find lost children and provide help for women who were going through divorce proceedings. With my own experience, I appeal for the improvement of legislation to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of female children."

READ THE OTHER STORIES IN OUR HOME ISSUE HERE