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Tendai Rupapa Senior Reporter
GIVEN rising insecurity in Africa and beyond, it is imperative for nations to put shoulders to the wheel and work towards creating lasting peace and harmony, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.
She made the remarks in a speech read on her behalf by Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri on the occasion of the 9th General Assembly (Summit) of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) on Monday in Abuja, Nigeria.
This is the first time since the organisation’s inception in 1997 that Zimbabwe has participated in the forum, showing how Amai Mnangagwa has earned recognition through her hard work, reinforcing engagement and re-engagement efforts.
Amai Mnangagwa, who is the Vice President of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), noted that previous summits of African First Ladies largely focused on how to positively contribute to the realisation of peace on the continent.
The Nigeria summit, she said, presented a perfect opportunity to review progress in this regard.
“I am aware of the temporary leadership vacuum that followed the resignation of the elected president and former First Lady of Sierra Leone soon after her election, which was addressed by the stepping in of Dr Aisha Buhari as acting president.
“Given the rising insecurity on our continent and beyond, it is imperative that we all put our shoulders to the wheel and work towards creating lasting peace and harmony in Africa. To that end, I wish to thank Dr Aisha Buhari, for taking the lead and inviting us here to among other issues, elect a leadership that will guide the African First Ladies Peace Mission’s contributions to continental peace initiatives.
“In the same vein, and for the sake of continuity and consistency, allow me distinguished colleagues, to echo my support for the continuation of the Nigerian presidency of the AFLPM.
“You are aware colleagues that the agenda of this meeting includes the foundation laying for the permanent site for the AFLPM and a fundraising dinner for the same purpose.
“The construction process needs to be closely coordinated and monitored if it is to be successfully and timeously completed and Nigeria has the proximity advantage to do so,” she said.
The need for peace on the continent, the First Lady emphasised, calls for concerted efforts at all levels to reverse the scourge of conflicts and terrorism.
“It is common knowledge that violent conflicts disproportionately affect women and girls and intensify pre-existing gender inequalities and discrimination. Women are the most affected despite being generally peace-loving and peaceful in nature. The need to include them in the peace-building initiatives and decision making cannot be over-emphasised.
“To this end, on 31 October 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. The resolution reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and post-conflict reconstruction.”
The First Lady said at the continental level, the African Union (AU), as outlined in its Agenda 2063, has pushed for the meaningful participation of women in efforts to silence the guns, enhance good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law.
At national level, the Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, she said, was working together with the United Nations, Civic Society, and other stakeholders to ensure the realisation of women participation in all spheres of the economy.
“In order to address historical gender imbalances, the Government of Zimbabwe, is promoting the participation of women in decision making and leadership roles. As an example, Zimbabwe has introduced a quota system for women in Parliament, while at the same time mainstreaming gender equality across all sectors.
“It is also important for this forum to add its voice to these women empowerment initiatives. Zimbabwe fully supports the establishment of a Permanent Secretariat based here in Abuja and commits to play its part towards this process.
“In addition, Zimbabwe pledges its support to the incoming leadership,” she said.
The office of the First Lady has not much institutional limits, and this allows it greater flexibility in its functionalities, she said.
“As the mothers of our respective nations, we occupy unique societal positions that allow us to transcend political and other divides in nation and peace building. The voice of a First Lady, when applied correctly, can be a powerful tool for fostering unity and peace.
“While peace in Africa is regarded as a dream, the dream is not unrealistic. However, it should be noted that peace is a result of collective effort. Let me conclude by contextualising this notion through a quotation of the wise and eternal words from our late Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Honourable John Landa Nkomo, “Peace begins with me, peace begins with you, peace begins with all of us.”
African First Ladies spoke with one voice at the summit where they agreed that an attack on one of the countries would affect the whole of Africa.
This, therefore, made it imperative for them to work together to ensure they assist each other in areas crying out for attention.
The mothers of nations spoke out clearly concerning elections which they say should not break apart societies and people must be tolerant and accommodate each other despite having divergent views.
Rape and homelessness arising from conflicts were also discussed with a need to bring relief to the affected people.
The First Ladies also agreed that since Nigeria has been holding fort since there was no substantive president for eight years, it had to remain in that place for the sake of continuity.
There were two segments to the programme which included the holding of an executive meeting.
There were three major events on the agenda which included electing the president of the organisation and reviewing the constitution which was in existence since 1995. The last item was the groundbreaking for the construction of a new headquarters for the First Ladies forum.
This also entailed mobilisation of resources at a dinner event.
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