Nicky Asher-Pedro

Nicky Asher-Pedro was born in Cape Town, South Africa. As a teenager she became involved in the anti-apartheid struggle and later worked in radio. She is a social worker, activist and journalist for The Big Issue magazine, a non-profit organization that empowers unemployed and marginalized adults.

Nicky Asher-Pedro was interviewed about her life, career and hope for the future for 200 WOMEN, a book and exhibition project founded on the principle of gender equality comprising original interviews and accompanying photographic portraits. This landmark project is the realisation of an epic global journey to find two hundred women with diverse backgrounds, and to ask them what really matters to them.

Q. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

I think being a woman in this city, Cape Town – particularly if you’re outspoken and you say what’s on your mind – is so tough. Men find it a challenge. They don’t expect you to be ‘difficult.’ Being a woman in a man’s world can feel like the lowest depth of misery. In this world, women are told to keep the peace and not stand up for themselves. They’re told that they need a man and that they need to change to accommodate men. They’re told to love men and respect men before they love and respect themselves. And as a result, women become defined by men.