First Ladies Condemn Violence against Women and Girls.

Letwin Mubonesi

The Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) is advocating for high-level interventions to curb gender-based violence and all forms of stigma and stereotypes that inhibit women and girls from contributing meaningfully towards the development of the global economy.

Speaking at a conference themed; “Renewing commitment towards enhancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Africa”, on the sidelines of the 74th Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), OAFLAD spelt out the need to bridge the education gap between men and women.

First Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa is the OAFLAD vice president, having been elected in July this year and she was recently appointed as the ambassador of Harvard University Global Health Catalyst during the 74th Ordinary Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

In recognition of her work, the world acclaimed university also revealed that it is going to give her an accolade for her humanitarian work. Director of Global Health Catalyst at Harvard Medical School, Professor Wilfred Ngwa and his delegation that included Professors Aditi Hazra and Oscar Nebangwa further accepted the First Lady’s invitation for the University to conduct its health summit in Zimbabwe on dates to be announced.

While addressing other First Ladies, Amai Mnangagwa said investing in women and girls yields positive returns on poverty eradication, economic growth and sustainable development in respective communities.

“We are gathered here again fighting gender inequality, which has affected our lives for a long time. It is still showing its ugly head. There is a need to increase socio-economic development leading to poverty reduction and empowerment of the girl-child. The whole world should make women a priority in all activities, and Governments should ensure the education gap in schools is gender sensitive.

Without women’s empowerment and gender equality, societies will not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and their full development potential,” she said. Amai Mnangagwa said the gender parity in schools should be addressed with immediate effect.

The First Lady, who recently embarked on a nationwide tour providing widows with knowledge on inheritance laws and administration of deceased estates, said women should be allowed to inherit properties after the demise of their husbands without the interference of relatives because they would have worked together to acquire those properties.

Economic development and gender equality go together and empowering women to participate equally in the global economy Their participation in the economy would stimulate wider benefits. Societies with greater gender equality not only offer better socio-economic opportunities for women, but also tend to grow faster and more equitably.

There are gains in poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, consumer choice, innovation and decision-making on a wider set of issues needed to promote women’s rights, so they could be agents of change for sustained socio-economic development and security globally.