Joice (Córrego do Chiado/São Mateus)

“To talk about women is good for me and at the same time brings some difficulties because it requires talking about motherhood and adolescence. Women today have experienced much difficulty in rural areas because there are no jobs. In order for women to work in agriculture it calls for physical labor, at the same time men also need to have a monthly income. This makes the woman feel a bit apprehensive to be entering for example, Plantar, which has caused many problems in women’s health.

Women have difficulty even getting to a health facility. Women’s health today is difficult to maintain. We are without a health agent because he did not elect a woman in the public tender, which will further hinder women’s health.

Women in rural areas perform so many activities but they are not recognized.
During the coffee harvest, many women move from their homes, leave at 5 am to harvest coffee and only return at 5 or 6 pm. So they are away from their children who go to school and they don’t know exactly what happens inside their homes because they are not with their children.

It is very difficult today to keep young women in rural areas. I do my crafts, I make soaps, purses, I paint, but I have a hard time at the market, which makes me feel discouraged.”