Mother’s day: what does it mean to be a mother today?

It is not the same as giving birth in a refugee camp or in a hospital in the city. It is not the same as choosing the best school for your children or knowing that your child walks miles every day to get in front of their teacher. Motherhood and being a parent with her changes according to the piece of the world in which you are. The 800 mothers interviewed by Terre des Hommes in 11 countries around the world and protagonists of the report “What mothers don’t say”, presented on the occasion of the Mother’s Day, which occurs on May 8. In these countries, Terre des Hommes carries out various interventions aimed at women to give them all the help possible to look after, educate and protect their sons and daughters.

There is But has, who is 30 years old and a mother of 4 children. She fled Syria due to the war and now lives in a refugee camp in Lebanon. “We left Syria in 2014, when the unrest began in our region. We are from Kalamoun. When our city was under attack we ran away and my only thought was to save my children ». Before the war disrupted her life Maha she dreamed of becoming a photographer. “Today I want my children to be able to continue studying and fulfilling themselves. I too would like to do it, taking back my passion for photography ».

Too often, according to data collected by Terre des Hommes, for women all over the world, motherhood still means having to give up something. The 65.3% of the mothers who participated in the research had to renounce to something, especially the study (28.3%) to the Work (20.9%) or at friendships (16.1%).

Karen He is 36 years old and lives in the working-class Villa Israel neighborhood, near the wholesale market in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. She was only 14 when she became pregnant with her first child and she burst into tears as soon as she found out. The boy with whom she conceived the baby did not want to know and she was left alone. She now has a small business and she hopes it will get better and better. The desire of her greater than her is that her children study and find a good job, but above all that they be able to build a stable and loving family.

The concerns most often expressed are related to violence. That On the road (69.7%) It is on web (55.3%) and the gender discrimination who risk suffering the daughters, in Workthe 44.6% believes that girls and boys do not have equal access to a career, as well as in the management of family resources (1 mum out of 4 says this).

Above all, mothers feel lonely. In every part of the world. The 67.3% of the mothers who participated in the questionnaire reported feeling lonely during pregnancy e 1 out of 2 (52%) believe that their childcare work is not shared equally with their partner. The data collected by UN Women also confirm this: on a global level, there are more than 100 million mothers who raise their children alone and women do three times as much unpaid housework and care as men.

Other stories of Vanity Fair that may interest you:

–Mother’s day 202210 books to read and give as gifts

– Mother’s Day 2022: the Airc Foundation Research Azalea blooms for all women