GENDER EQUALITY KEY FOR PEACE – MINISTER
Some of the solutions lie in providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work and social protection.
GENDER equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, Gender Minister Ms Elizabeth Phiri has said.
Speaking during a consumer unity and trust society meeting on the political economic analysis social protection in Zambia, Ms Elizabeth Phiri said progress was being made in the reduction of harmful practices such as child marriage and female genital mutilation.
These, she said, had declined by 30 percent in the past decade, but that there was still much work to be done to completely eliminate such practices.
She said some of the solutions lie in providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work and social protection, as well as and representation in political and economic decision-making processes which fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.
“This pre-meeting will allow us as a region, and as a continent to speak with one voice at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) which will help us clearly communicate our recommendations.
“I have been informed that this meeting will discuss challenges that women, particularly those in the informal sector, face in accessing social protection policies on the continent specifically in the southern African region.
“We are joined today by various institutions from the region who will share with us the challenges from their countries with the goal of developing solutions to present at the CSW,” she said.
And speaking during the same event, Zimbabwean ambassador to Zambia, Gertrude Takawira says there was need for social protection of women.
She said economic sanctions restrict economic space for women, thereby sentencing many women to selling their bodies for a living.
The ambassador expressed hope that the informal sector and social protection will be reshaped fundamentally by industrialisation.