AspartofChinAfrica’scoverstoryonInternationalWomen’sDayonMarch8,weaskedthreeAfricanwomenambassadorstoChina,TaniaRomualdo,AmbassadorofCaboVerde,LebohangNtsinyi,AmbassadorofLesotho,andDolanaMsimang,AmbassadorofSouthAfrica,fortheirthoughtsontheprogressmadeandchallengesstillfacedintheirrespectivecountriesbywomenastheycontinuetomarchtowardgenderequity.
TaniaRomualdoAmbassadorofCaboVerdetoChina
Makingapositivedifference
InCaboVerde,womenplayamainroleinsociety,notonlyasmaineducatorsinthefamilyandsocietybutalsoasprofessionals.Womenplayanimportantroleintheeducationofchildrenandinthemoldingoftheirsurroundingsociety’sbehavior.Womenarethereforeinaparticularlygoodpositiontoexercisetheirinfluenceonpeople’smindsets.Ofcoursethiscannotbedonequicklyandisaprocessthatwilltakemanyyears.
Ourachievementsongenderequalityarehuge.Inourpreviousgovernment,twothirdsoftheministerswerewomen.Forequaljobswereceiveequalsalaries.Wehaveequalaccesstoopportunitiesineducationandemployment.Butwestillhavealongwaytogo.Inparliament,thenumberofwomenislow,notbecausetherearerestrictionstowomen’saccess,butbecausethenumberofwomenplayingleadingrolesinpoliticsisnothighenough.Inruralareas,womenhaveahardlifeandfacehugechallenges,whichareevenbiggeriftheyaresinglemomsorwiveswhosehusbandsemigratedtolookforbetterconditionsfortheirfamilies.
China-AfricacooperationcanempowerAfricanwomenbytheimplementationofthe10cooperationplansadoptedattheJohannesburgSummitoftheForumonChina-AfricaCooperationinlate2015.Inparticular,theprojectsdealingwithagriculturalmodernization,greendevelopment,povertyreduction,publichealth,culturalandpeople-to-peopleexchangescanplayanimportantroleinthisfield.
ThereisagovernmentalinstitutioncalledtheCaboVerdeanInstituteforGenderEqualityandEquitydealingwiththeimprovementofgenderequality.IwouldliketopromotedirectcontactbetweentheirpresidentandtheleadersofsimilarinstitutionsinChina,inordertoestablishapartnershipbetweenthesisterinstitutions.
IbelieveChineseandAfricanwomencanlearnmuchmoreiftheyenhanceadialogueandstartsharingexperiences,whichcanonlystartwithculturalandpeople-to-peopleexchanges.Cultureisoneofthemostpowerfulweaponsinourhandsifweuseitwellandtakethemostoutofit.Itwilldefinitelyhelpusachieveourgoalsofmutualunderstanding,mutualrespect,exchangingofexperiencesandlearningfromeachother.
AfricanwomenlivinginChinashouldgrabthiswonderfulopportunitytoexperiencelivinginsuchaculturallyrichcountryasChina.TheyshouldtakeadvantagetolearnasmuchastheycanabouttheChinesehistory,culture,peopleandthelanguage.AfricanwomenshouldexploreChinaineverywaypossibletopromotetheirowncountryandcontinent,topromotenotonlypoliticaldialogue,cooperationandbusinessrelations,butalsotheculturalandpeople-to-peopleexchanges,becauseafterall,that’swhatwillbringusallclosertogetherandmakethisworldabetterplace.
LebohangNtsinyiAmbassadorofLesothotoChina
Empoweringwomen
Fromahistoricalperspective,LesothoiscompletelysurroundedbySouthAfrica,andforalongtime,manymenfromLesothousuallymigratedtoSouthAfricatoworkinthemines,whilethesistersandwivesstayedathome.Inaddition,whentheboysbecameabitbigger,manywenttoworkintheminesorwentouttolookaftertheanimals,whilethesisterswenttoschool.
Becauseofthisculturalbackground,Lesothohasmoregirlseducatedthanboys,whereasinmanyAfricancountries,girlsaredisadvantagedintermsofeducationandmanyotherthings.ItistheoppositeinLesotho.Butthatgapisnowclosing,becauseofthechangingtimes.That’salsowhynowLesothohasmorethana90percentliteracyratebecausemenandwomenareequallyeducated.Whenitcomestojobs,Lesothonevermakesanydistinctionbetweenmenandwomen,andthere’snodiscrimination.It’sequalpayforequaljobs.That’sthetraditioninLesotho.
However,whenitcomestopolitics,womenarestillleftbehind.Theyarescaredofgoingoutandstandingforapoliticalposition,becausesometimestheydon’twanttotakethatriskandbeengagedintheroughandtumbleofpolitics.Inaddition,womenopttostayathomeandraisechildren,andthathasanimpactontheircareerpath.That’swhyIwishwecouldfindawaywheretheresponsibility[ofraisingachild]canbeshared[betweenmenandwomen].
WehopethatChina-Africacooperationcanhelpwithdecentralization,andhelpsomecompaniesorothertypesofindustriesdevelopinthevillages,sothatthereislessurbanmigration.Ifwomencanfindjobsintheirownruralareas,theywillstaythere.Thiswillmakesureyoudon’tbreakupthefamily.Socially,itwill[also]benefitthechildren.
WhatIadmirehereistheChinesewomenteachthechildrentobefocusedandtobehardworkers.Wehavetoinstillthatsenseofduty,andthesenseoftheloveofthecountryinourchildren.InoticedthatinChinayoucanfindwomeninmiddlemanagement,butinthehigherpositionsthereareveryfewwomen.ButinLesotho,it’sequalallthewayuptothetop.
DolanaMsimangSouthAfricanAmbassadortoChina
Uniteforbetterfuture
Womenworldwidehaveaninherentsenseofresponsibilityandwillingnesstomakesacrificesforthewellbeingofothers.Thesequalitiesinwomenacrossallspectraofsocietyarewhatgiveushopeforthefuture.
Lastyear,SouthAfricacelebratedthe60thAnniversaryofthe1956Women’sMarchtotheUnionBuildingsinPretoria.OnAugust9thatyear,oneofthemosthistoriceventsinthestruggleforfreedomandwomen’srightsinSouthAfricatookplaceinthecountry’sadministrativecapitalPretoria,whenmorethan20,000womenofdifferentracesmarchedtotheUnionBuildingstoprotestagainstlegislationaimedattighteningtheapartheidgovernment’scontroloverthemovementofblackwomeninurbanareas.Theyalsochallengedtheideathat“awoman’splaceisinthekitchen,”declaringitinsteadtobe“everywhere.”
Thisdisciplinedanddignifiedcrowddemonstratedthestrengthanddeterminationofwomenunited,strivingforequalrights,democracyandlegitimacy.
Women,whetherinAfrica,Asiaorelsewhere,havetheintrinsicdesiretomaketheworldabetterplace.Itis,therefore,criticalforwomentoensurethattheytaketheirrightfulpositionsinpolitics,government,businessandcivilsocietyandthatwomenandgirlsofallageshaveaccesstoqualityeducation,universalhealthcare,adequatefoodandshelterandapeacefulandsafeenvironment.
Thesearethegoalsofmanycountries,governmentsandinternationalorganizationsandarealsocontainedintheUnitedNation’sSustainableDevelopmentGoalsadoptedonSeptember25,2015,settingtargetsforthenext15yearstoendpoverty,protecttheplanet,andensureprosperityforallaspartofthesustainabledevelopmentagenda.
Tosecureourfutureformanygenerationstocome,itisourdutyaswomen,irrespectiveofage,positionorstatus,tointernalizethesegoalsandtocontributetowardthemwithstrengthanddeterminationaspartoftheglobalprojecttomaketheworldabetterplaceforall,wholiveinit.