ORHEI, Moldova — “We would like to have two kids, but only after we are financially ready,” says Elena Tira, age 27. She and her husband, Mircea, are already raising a daughter who is almost two years old. Before conceiving a second child, Elena wants to develop her business offering prenatal classes for future parents, which she launched during her first maternity leave. The couple also plans to move to the capital city of Chișinău, which they believe will offer better career opportunities.

TBILISI, Georgia — When Mirian Jugheli became a father and decided to take paternity leave in order to participate more actively in raising his daughter, his decision surprised many people.

“I wanted to be at home from my daughter Liza’s very first minutes and allocate as much time to her as possible, to divide the work with my wife and create an example for other fathers,” says Jugheli, a communications specialist and an active participant in the global MenCare campaign to promote male involvement in childrearing.

KYIV, Ukraine — Rigid, traditional views of gender roles in society and stereotypical ideas about masculinity and femininity are common among men in Ukraine, contributing to gender-based violence, unequal treatment for women, and poor mental and physical health outcomes for women and for men themselves, according to a ground-breaking survey initiated by UNFPA.

ISTANBUL, Turkey — The idea of a workshop to teach men how to iron clothes was initially greeted with skepticism, if not outright mockery, by Aleksandar Grujic’s male peers in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. “But afterwards, when they had learned some new tips and tricks, they realized how useful it can be, and how it’s nothing complicated,” says Grujic, who served as an ironing instructor at the first-ever “Men Can Do It Too” fair in Skopje last year.

IMISHLI, Azerbaijan — In the small, remote villages around Imishli district, gender-based violence is largely thought of as a private matter. The stigma around the issue keeps many people from reporting incidents of violence, or even discussing them. As a result, an entire community may be aware of violence happening in a particular household, yet no one ever intervenes. But that is starting to change.

TBILISI, Georgia/KYIV, Ukraine — “I was only 17 years old when my daughter Anastasia was born. I knew I was too young to be a father, so I was very nervous, but also twice as motivated to do everything properly,” says Sandro Sulakvelidze, a musician from Georgia. “I woke up at midnight when she started crying, gave her food, changed her diapers, was with her whenever she needed me. Now she’s 7 years old and we are best friends.”