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International Women's Day 2014: Mothers and daughters around the world describe hopes and dreams in touching photographs

From Syria to Seoul, the young girls and women had high aspirations

Kashmira Gander
Friday 07 March 2014 18:17 EST
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To mark International Women’s day, news agency Reuters asked mothers and daughters to describe their hopes and dreams for the future.

While their exact visions were different, mothers from Mali to Romania all wanted one thing: for their daughters to be happy.

The touching stories captured by the intimate photoset include that of Mariam Khaled Masto, a nine-year-old from war-torn Syria, who wants to become an Arabic teacher, while her mother would rather she became a pharmacist.

“I have high ambitions for my daughter,” said her mother, Bidaa Mhem Thabet al-Hasan. “But I will let her choose and follow her ambitions. Her success will make me happy.”

The photos demonstrate the unique bond between mother and daughter, but also highlight the achievements made in the struggle for gender equality in the past 100 years since the first International Women's Day.

But while some of the most powerful positions in the world are held by women, their economic participation and political empowerment remain well below that of men's, according to the World Economics Forum (WEF).

So, while celebrating advances in gender equality on the day backed by the UN since 1975, activists around the globe are also likely to use the occasion to call for further change.

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