First Lady urges Comesa to invest in girl child education: To create an empowered generation of women
Malawi First Lady Gertrude Mutharika has called on COMESA member countries to put a lot of resources in supporting girl child education for the region to achieve meaningful women economic empowerment and achieve sustainable industrial development.
Madam Mutharika was speaking on Monday when she addressed the 8thCOMESA First Ladies Roundtable Meeting held as part of the 18thCOMESA heads of state and government summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The theme for the meeting was “Economic Empowerment of Women: Key to Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development”
In her address Madam Mutharika said there is need to let the door of learning open the over-riding importance of women’s education, the foundation upon which everything else must be built.
“If we think of life as a long race, it is education that provides the training, the nourishment, and the support. Without good quality education, you walk up to the starting line with a severe disadvantage.
“It is against this background that there is a great need to focus a lot of resources in supporting the girl child education. If the girl child is educated, we will be creating a future generation of economically empowered women,” said Madam Mutharika.
The First Lady bemoaned the slow progress in economic empowerment of women across the COMESA region saying women continue to participate poorly in entrepreneurial activities.
Among other things she said women have poor access to credit, land, skills, knowledge and information, which worsen their participation in any meaningful economic activities.
Madam Mutharika said to significantly and thoroughly address issues of poverty and vulnerability of women in the COMESA region, there is need to improve access of women to economic resources such as credit through the establishment of the women economic empowerment fund; enhance women’s access to and ownership of land, property; and also enhance women’s capacity development.
“COMESA should endevour create a world where every little girl from every corner of this Region can fulfill their potential without impediment, where women will let their confidence roar from the roof tops, their cups run over with self- assurance, that a woman can be a top surgeon, or indeed leader in any field that she might choose,” she said.
On Malawi the First Lady said, the country has a whole department of Gender Affairs, whose mandate is to formulate, coordinate and implement issues of gender equality and women empowerment programmes.
Currently she said Malawi is running two important programmes which include the Social Cash Transfer whose aim is to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.
Other programmes include the Community Savings and Investment Programme (COMSIP).
About fifteen First Ladies participated in the Round Table Meeting.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
koma decoration ya nkhope ngati choumba mwa yenjeza mukufuna kuoneka ngati chani. ma ring mmanja dzasatanic!
Alwayz galz nt boyz! Koma lizakhalako bungwe loona abambo nd anyamata?
Kaudzudzu akanso inu!! Kodi ndi udzudzu wanji uwu wotchedwa Getrude Maseko Mutharika?
I am always surprised why African leaders take their wives to summits. Look now that it is becoming a trend to organize parallel so called First Lady summits which are practically useless. These useless parallel summits are an extra financial burden on host Governments
Girl childyo mwamudziwa muli ku Sanjika? Tamusiileni JB zimenezo inu simungazithe. Tangopitilizani zaulaiya ndi kukokola zinyalala mmadzalamu. Bola musabenso ku bungwe lina.Paja inu kukonda kuba ndi makani opanda nzeru. Mxiiiiew!!!!!!!
wat abt a boy child, unangokula ulibe nzeru
Awanso ndie amandinyansa bwanji,analowa m’gulu la anthu akuba,amunawo akutinamiza kuti ali ndi over K840 million koma kulephela kupanga ukwati kuchita kudalila anthu akufuna kwabwino,kulephela kupeleka ndalama ku mulakho,ndi BEAM mkuba ndalama ku NAC ndipo mapeto ake NAC ili m’madzi,kutinamiza kuti anakana salary increament koma pomwe amazidziwa mpakana Nankhumwa kulengeza,kutinamiza kuti Bingu adakali ndi moyo pomwe atamwalila,kuti namiza anthu kuti ndi Daniel Phiri, kutinamiza kuti vitara value yake ndi k51 m,ndi zambiri ndipo ndikuuzanibe,komano chomwe ndachiona nchakuti APM alibe chili chonse,mano alibe(mwina pano anagula) chisoni alibe,luso loyankhula alibe,mapulani otukula malawi alibe,ulemu alibe,nzelu alibenso.