PULLING up at the traffic lights in your car is enough to get you mugged in some countries.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Not necessarily in Australia, but this is just one story of the thousands of women in Tamworth who moved here from all over the globe to find a life free from rampant violence and oppression.
You would hope the harsh reality of life for women in other countries would be a world away for local ladies, but a new event is helping them share their experiences.
READ MORE:
Multicultural Tamworth will host a ladies’ afternoon next month to help new residents “meet and connect” and “also share ideas and experiences to enable others who come to settle in the area”.
Karen Martins moved to Tamworth from Brazil with her husband to get away from the “violence and corruption” of her home country.
She said it was a great initiative for local women.
“I think it’s like a wake-up call on what we have been through or faced and how we are really grateful to be able to be here,” she said.
Ms Martins came from São Paulo, a place she described as “really crowded and violent”.
She said it was unsafe to walk at home at night and stopping at the traffic lights in your car could leave you open to mugging.
She listed a few main differences between South America and Tamworth.
“Here we can stop at the traffic lights,” she said.
“Here, I feel much more respected as a woman.
“I’m not worried about who might approach me or say something offensive, all the time I’d definitely get a word without wanting one.”
Multicultural Tamworth founder Eddie Whitham hoped the ladies’ afternoon would highlight issues they might have “been ignorant” to and help foster more connections in town.
“People from different cultures will have different ways of seeing things,” he said.
“Some have come from dictatorships or kingdoms and they’ll see things differently.”
The multicultural ladies’ afternoon will be held on Sunday, March 3 from 4pm at the C3 Church on Duri Road.