For the original article in Marie Claire in Portuguese click here.

Over the past five years anthropologist Walquiria Domingues Leão Rêgo has witnessed a change in behavior in the poorest, and probably most sexist, areas of Brazil. The money provided by the federal income subsidy program Bolsa Família has brought the power of choice to women. They now decide everything from the grocery list to whether to file for divorce.

Money from "Bolsa-Família" brought the power of choice to the women of the Sertão, Brazil's hinterland (Photo from: Editora Globo)

A revolution is underway. Silent and slow—52 years after the creation of the More >