Luanda – Angola adhered on Tuesday to the African Women Leaders Network, with the aim of promoting a movement for gender equality, peace and contributing to transformation and stability on the continent.
The Network of African Women Leaders, created in 2017, aims to harness the wealth of leadership experiences of women leaders in the continent, with a view to the effective materialization of Africa's Agenda 2063 and the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The act was witnessed by the First Lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, presided over by the minister of Social Action, family and Women's Promotion, Faustina Alves de Sousa. Angola became the 28th country to join the platform created in 2017 by the African Union with support of the German government.
According to Faustina Alves de Sousa, the creation of the network of women leaders demonstrates the African Union's commitment to gender promotion and women empowerment.
Angola’s minister of Foreign Affairs, Téte António, on his turn, said the creation of the network was inspired by article number five of the Sustainable Development Goals, which highlights the importance of gender equality and the full and effective participation of women and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision making in political, economic and public life that comprises six main pillars.
The pillars are governance and political participation, peace and security, women's finance and entrepreneurship, youth leadership, agriculture, and social mobilization according to the specificity of each country, giving a new dynamic to efforts fostered and led by women who with their determination generate impactful and lasting changes.
The minister added that joining this initiative means starting an inclusive and synergistic movement, integrated by women leaders from different spheres of society, which includes government, civil society, political parties, traditional authorities, business community, and academia, all together as an instrument of transformation in the priority areas identified by the network, namely rural women empowerment, political participation, peace and security, young women leadership, financial inclusion, and mobilization.
The United Nations representative in Angola, Zahira Virani, congratulated the Angolan government, which showed determination and will for the country to be part of the Regional Network for African Women, reiterating all the support for the formation process of the Network.
The United Nations Population Fund values the creation of the Network, because it is important the leadership of women to ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which has to do with the full realization of gender equality and women's sexual and reproductive health rights.
On a message, the African Union Special Envoy for Women Peace and Security, Bineta Diop, highlighted the achievements of the Angolan Head of State and First Lady for the work done to promote women's leadership in Angola.
AU special envoy adds that African women must be leaders in all dimensions for the transformation of the continent and address challenges such as conflicts, wars, food security encompassed in the Agenda 2063.
