Despite years of efforts and advances, full gender equality has yet to be realized. There is not one country in the world free of gender-based violence or discrimination. And in too many places, the burdens of inequality fall hardest on the youngest.

Women in Cambodia’s Kampong Cham Province are no strangers to violence. A staggering 33 per cent of women in the province have experienced physical violence since age 15, a 2014 survey revealed . Statistics for the whole of Cambodia are not much better.

“As you know, in this society, we have problems with equality between men and women,” said Farida Azizova, a 21-year-old taekwondo champion from Azerbaijan. She knows all too well the barriers women face.