Mozambique: PALOP feminists debate women’s social, political and economic participation

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Mozambique: PALOP feminists debate women’s social, political and economic participation

1:16 CAT | 19 Apr 2022

Graça Machel advocates creating a single voice and establishing bridges so that there is legitimacy, credibility and recognition of the various organisations defending women's rights in Portuguese-speaking African Countries. [Photo: FDC - Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Comunidade on Facebook]

More than 100 women from feminist movements from four Portuguese-speaking countries (Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe) are participating in the forum.

The city of Maputo is this Monday and Tuesday hosting the Lusophone African Feminist Forum, bringing together in a single space feminist movements from Mozambique, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe. The goal of the forum is to reflect on the inclusion, challenges and perspectives of the social, political and economic participation of women in their respective countries.

Speaking at the event, Mozambican activist Graça Machel referred to the need to study the concrete reality of women in each PALOP member country so that there is unanimity in action while avoiding generalisation. She focused on the need for interconnection among the problems, challenges and opportunities so that they are not overlooked and all women are encompassed.

“My intervention will focus on the importance of the bridge, and on the importance of the voice. We are the bridge. Why? Because when we meet here and talk about the woman or the women, we have to have a clear and deep awareness that we are speaking on behalf of millions, not of hundreds, of women, who we can identify through the organisations present here,” she said.

“It starts with ourselves, recognizing that the dignity of each and every woman in our countries and in the common space has to be known first, and to be respected, and valued,” she continued.

Women.fb_ — *Photo: FDC – Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Comunidade on Facebook*

Graça Machel also said that in Mozambique the existing laws aimed at the protection and promotion of women still do not benefit most women, referring again to their exclusion from access to resources.

“Access to resources is a right in the same way that women are entitled to access to education and access to health, but as to this access to resources I have heard very little from feminist organizations,” she commented.

Deputy Telmina Pereira, who guided the events inaugural session on behalf of the Speaker of the Assembly of the Republic, highlighted the involvement of women in politics, as well as their participation in decision-making bodies.

“We have already grown a lot, but the challenge prevails. That challenge is related to the representation of women, where we want parity, that is, 50% women and 50% men,” she outlined.

The Lusophone African Feminist Forum is organized by the Women’s Observatory, which, according to Alice Banze, director of the Women’s Academy for Africa, expects concrete solutions.

“These dialogues aim to revitalise the movements and also defend gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls with the aim of advocating for the representation of women in decision-making processes,” she proclaimed.

Participants then shared remarkable stories of the trajectories of their lives.

The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mozambique was noted as having made remarkable contributions to programs for the protection and development of women in the region.

Source: O País