(soft ambient music) (people chattering) [Anita] Who's Thirsty?

Bring a cup, and I'll give you some water The water comes slowly.

Meaning if one has filled their bucket, the next person has to wait for the water to come up again.

We only have three reliable boreholes.

Climate change means that fetching water takes four hours.

Women have so much work that we never sleep.

(tool thudding) (people chattering) [Winston] I do not like seeing men do women's chores No, no.

For Men?

No.

[Jenifa] It is tough for me and the kids We often have no food, money, or soap.

But my husband won't help.

When you want someone to change You go to their doorstep with your problem Because they will be unable to ignore you.

[Anita] In Malawi, women are the ones that work a lot, compared to men.

I spent many years convincing my husband that it's better, to share the work.

At first he would refuse to help me, and say, "I don't want to hear about it."

If you love your wife, There is no way you can just sit and wait, for her to do everything My wife is also a human being.

(people chattering) [Esther] So I will leave the stage for Anita, to do what she does best.

Anita come and lead us in everything.

[Anita] Today I will be speaking on the topic of gender.

So I will start with the question: What is gender?

[Audience Member] Gender means not differentiating what work is to be done, by men or women [Anita] Are we together?

Do you know that when we are doing things together, As husband and wife, that job becomes easier?

Isn't that so?

[Anita] Wow!

you have really impressed me.

You have even planted beans [Jenifa] Yes, I planted beans so that we can use the bean leaves as vegetables.

[Anita] What's bothering you?

[Jenifa] Worries are there my friend.

When all the work wait's for you its hard [Anita] Winston!

Can you please come here for a moment?

We were talking here The plants are not doing that well and this one is uprooted So I was saying you should help in the garden a bit.

I'm sure you can help water them, can't you?

Little by little [Winston] Okay.

When it comes to gardening, I have no problem but washing plates, drawing water, pounding maize, are all the duties of women... Do you expect a man like me to perform such duties?

Suppose my friends come to chat with me, and they find me busy cooking, what will they think of me?

[Anita] Did you not see my husband yesterday, carrying firewood on his head?

You can't wash plates?

(soft ambient music) [Anita] Can you change my battery for me?

The filmmakers arranged, for Esther and me to come to America, to talk to farmers and community organizers.

(soft ambient music) - This is oats.

These are cover crops, so we don't have bare soil and the carbon isn't released into the atmosphere.

And then we have some radish.

So they go deep and give aeration to the soil.

(speaking in foreign language) In Iowa, all of the men are proud because we are number one in soybeans, number one in corn, number one in hogs.

We're number one, but what we have to do is change this type of agri-business whose bottom line is about profit, not about people eating or having access to land or food.

Many women want farmers to farm like this.

- Mm-hmm.

- Mm-hmm.

- [Denise] And one of the best ways to check climate change is to have a lot of small, organic farmers all over the world.

I'm very pleased to see you farming like this.

- Thank you very much.

- So we're going to a restaurant that the owner has made dinner for us out of my food.

We started an organization called Women, Food and Agriculture Network.

And one of the things that we've done is teaching women to farm because most people don't come from farms anymore or from agriculture.

So they come to learn how I farm, learn about cover crops, learn about the different vegetables.

So, do you have a similar organization?

How do women organize?

[Anita] We have networking groups for women and we've also done workshops on gender.

Now my husband and I make decisions together we spend money together, we do the work together, That never happened before.

So your husband was willing to change.

There has to be the willingness too.

I am a woman in an occupation that's mostly men.

There's a word that is used commonly now.

It's a man explaining things to a woman and they shorten the two words and they call it mansplaining.

- Mansplaining.

- Mansplaining.

- Mansplaining.

Like.

[Anita] In Bwabwa, men give instructions, and try to tell you what to do It seems in America Things aren't so different Men everywhere are worried about women becoming as powerful as them.

But the best men know that when women are powerful everyone is better off (soft ambient music) (gentle chattering) After you plant seeds, you need to water and weed.

Think of Winston.

Every day he grows, and every day he will need help, to be better.

(singing in foreign language) Today Winston is joining a cooking demonstration.

He has been doing this for months First, we will wash the soya.

And once we're done, we will pound it in the mortar.

I cook, I draw water, which is good because my wife needs to rest too.

I took her as my maid.

There was no respect.

I realize that I was doing things the wrong way.

(singing in foreign language) (rhythmic applauding) [Jenifa] I hoped that he could change but have you ever seen anything like that?

[Anita] Winston now acts like he lives in the same village as the rest of us.

Little by little (soft ambient music) (people chattering) (soft ambient music)