Hello, *Mollinda and first of all thank you for dedicating your time for this interview.

International Women's Week is coming up (3-9 of March) and so we devised a series of interviews for you, from deviantART's most wonderful women artists. They are as varied as you could imagine - photographers, stock artists, digital painters, web designers and more but they all share one common thing.
They are women.

<sub>"As many of us already have read, or know, women had to fight for their equal footing with the men, and in some parts of the world they are still very underprivileged. We as women still get paid less than men for same positions, a lot of us are undereducated, a number are being treated as commodity even slavery, forced into prostitution... We even have girls at extremely young age being forced into marriage with much older men, and what makes it even worse their bodies are underdeveloped for childbearing and many die during childbirth or suffer later from side-effects of it, such as weak bladder and lowering of the uterus, being outcasted by community and families. We still struggle to break the glass ceilings in the corporate world, and in many parts of the world women do not have right to vote, or even speak up.

So in order to change this, to give all those young women hope, and a drive to succeed we wanted to organise the event that will empower women, that will give women and girls strength to reach for their dreams, that extra push they need."</sub>

Today, we are superwomen. We are doctors, nurses, managers, secretaries and mothers.

Please tell us about yourself.

*Mollinda: I'm a mature student, studying BA (hons) Fine Art with Integrated Media at ELIHE in Blackburn. I work too hard, play too much and my house is covered in a thin layer of soot

What do you think are the biggest issues for women in the world today?

*Mollinda: The pressure to have a career is enormous. 100 years ago women would have died to have what we have now, and not taking advantages of all avenues open to us is seen as betraying our sex. I want a family, and I don't want to have to struggle through IVF when I hit 35 simply because I've been too busy to think about babies earlier.

Do you think there is an easy fix to this problem?

*Mollinda: I think women just have to step back and think, you know what? We fought against society telling us what we could and could not do, so why are we letting other people tell us what we should and should not do? I think the most important thing is to know what you want and to do it, and not let other people tell you otherwise.

Who are the women you look up to or inspire you the most? (it can be on dA or in real life)

*Mollinda: Dame Anita Roddick is the only person I don't know personally who I have allowed myself to look up to.

What inspires you about her?

*Mollinda: She was a strong woman, an amazing woman who took on the world and won. All she wanted when she started her business was a livelihood for her family doing something she enjoyed. Thirty-odd years on and The Body Shop still embodies her passion and her dedication and I am proud to work for them - I just regret I never met her before she died. She inspired me to fight for what I want, and to not grow hard and cynical. She was a vibrant, loving woman and everyone I've spoken to who met her described her as such. I've seen photographs and videos of her working with the Community Trade projects in Africa and I can only hope to be half the woman she was.

We know deviantART is a wonderful place to grow as an artist in. Do you think deviantART has helped you realise things about yourself in the context of being a woman? Has it helped you grow as a woman?

*Mollinda: It has helped me realise what I don't want to become. You see much more of the negative than the positive in such a large community, or at least you remember it that way. I know so many, many wonderful people but to be honest I set targets by what I do not want to be. I do not want to be cynical, I do not want to be bitchy, I do not want to be trite, I do not want to be repetitve, I do not want to be bland...

What message would you leave for the future women? (if you had a little sister, what would be the most important thing you would pass on to her?)

*Mollinda: People mock me and my obsession with skincare, and feminists would turn in their graves, but I seriously think the one advantage I appreciate most that we have over men is MAKE UP. Men have a hangover and look shit? Tough luck. Women can layer on any combination of a thousand different lotions and potions and instantly look alive again. This isn't about looking good, it's about feeling confident, and I know that I feel more confident with a matte complexion and a slick of mascara. Call me vain, I just say it's all about presentation. My Great-Grandmother taught my mother that, and she taught me. She was a real lady, aristocratic, old school.

We're women from dawn to dusk. Can you tell us of an event that your being a woman hindered you in?

*Mollinda: No, and with the right attitude I don't see why it would. I have no qualms about asking for help, and if a certain job requires male help (jars are a bugger) then I will ask

What do you think is the most important thing people should realise about women?

*Mollinda: That really, we're just men... but missing a leg

Is there anything you would like to add?

*Mollinda: I really wish there were events like this for men. Men are the victims of domestic violence, rape, discrimination in the workplace... it's just rarer, or not reported. We are, at the end of the day, not men and women... we are just people.


Again, thank you *Mollinda for taking the time to let us get to know a woman's life from up close.

Some gems from *Mollinda and her stock account: `pendlestock's gallery:



For more information about International Women's Week visit ^sbaraci or *int-womens-week.