Born a Girl

In 1995 Dana was 17. She lived with her brothers and her widowed mother in Amman, Jordan. In the absence of her father, her brothers were protective of her.

In 2000 she was in the middle of studying dentistry and worked so hard that she had no time for relationships, but made time for fashion and buying clothes.

By 2005 she has married her brother's friend Omar - who is a doctor - and they have made a new life in the US. How does she feel about moving from Jordan and being a Muslim living in the West?

How is Dana finding life so far away from her family in Jordan? Catch up with her in 2010.

Tara Mohr lived in the prosperous town of Palo Alto, California, US, with her parents in 1995. Her passion was drama.

In 2000 Tara attended Yale University, studying English. In a different place with a different perspective, she felt that she had the opportunity to tap into her Jewish culture.

By 2005 Tara is concerned with the issue of work-life balance. What are the things that are standing in the way of women advancing in their careers?

For a long time she felt confident that gender was no longer an 'issue' in America. Now she has changed her mind.

As an 18 year old in 1995 Dzifa Adzanu was a positive and practical young woman. When we first met her in Peki Tsame, Ghana, she was waiting for her further education to begin.

To further her dreams of becoming an accountant, in 2000 Dzifa studied at Cape Coast Polytechnic in western Ghana. She was positive about her future.

At the age of 28 she finally landed a role as an assistant accountant after years of difficulties finding a permanent job. Influenced by the good works of her mother, she took on financial responsibility for a little boy whose parents could not afford to educate him.

Dzifa has had a child of her own called Austin, but she has responsibility for a great many more children.

In 1995 Sri Devi Soundararajan was an outgoing 16 year old who wanted a career in advertising, but she balanced this desire for a glamorous job with regular visits to her Hindu temple.

When Sri Devi's friends begin to get married in 2000, how did she feel about about arranged marriages versus love matches - and combining a family with a career?

By 2005 Sri Devi put her career in advertising to one side and began to work for a charity.

What is Sri Devi's outlook on life in 2010?

In 1995 Guadalupe Diaz lived away from her parents who were running the family farm - instead she lived with three of her brothers in the town of Oaxaca. She was 16 when we first met her.

Five years later in 2000, Guadalupe was a psychology student edging towards independence and a career. She had strong views on Mexico's prevalent 'macho' culture.

By 2005 Guadalupe's keen passion for social issues results in a job with a family social care unit. She also helped her brother with his political career.

By 2010 Guadalupe has moved to the countryside to help her father with the family farm. She takes a business-minded approach.