Online Reporter
George Maponga in MIDRAND,South Africa
PAN African Parliament (PAP) president Chief Fortune Charumbira has challenged more women on the African continent to take up leadership positions and play a leading role in driving transformative development.
Addressing parliamentarians at the PAP seat in Midrand this morning during commemorations to mark Pan African Women’s Day, Chief Charumbira lamented the low representation of women in leadership positions in Africa.
The PAP president noted that it is disappointing that women constituted a huge chunk of the continental population but remained underrepresented in leadership positions.
He pledged PAP’s commitment to help reduce the yawning chasm between men and women in leadership positions.
“At PAP, we represent the voices of people on the continent and I want to reaffirm our commitment to making sure more women assume leadership positions on the continent,” he said.
“We stand ready as PAP to be a platform for addressing this mismatch between the population of women on the continent and the number of women in leadership positions.
“I also want to challenge more women to move and take up leadership positions and we will support you.”
Chief Charumbura revealed that it is disappointing that out of around 10 000 legislators on the entire African continent, only around 25 percent or about 2 500 are women.
This, he added, shows a lot needs to be done to address this disequilibrium in representation along gender lines to make sure more women have a voice in leadership positions.
Africa continued to grapple with inequality and alienation, with women being part of the group of citizens with limited opportunities, both socially, economically and even politically.
President of PAP’s Women’s Caucus, Ms Amina Tidjani Yaya, noted that the issue of having more women in leadership positions is pertinent and needs urgent attention.
In her address during the commemorations, Ms Tidjani Yaya stressed that there can never be complete justice in Africa without gender justice.
According to her women are key players in the continental development matrix hence a lot must be done to make sure their voice is amplified.
Online Reporter