The Sunday News
Tendai Rupapa , in St Petersburg, Russia
WOMEN of Africa must arise and tell the true story of the African continent to correct media stereotypes that depict a continent of war, poverty, diseases and human rights abuses, to confront challenges that lie ahead of us, First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.
If women fail to arise, she said, together with the children and generations to come, Africa will be worse-off than other continents. Instead of committing space to highlighting positive issues about Africa, like its extensive mineral resource base, the mass media is hell-bent on writing misleading articles to scare away investors and retard the continent’s progress.
Fortuitously, international forums like the Eurasian Women’s Forum held in Russia – where the First Lady told delegates the continent’s true story-present an opportunity for Africans to tell their accounts with the benefit of credible facts.
The First Lady’s remarks come amid an open admission by some investors and development partners who attended the forum that they feared visiting Africa because of media reports which painted the continent black.
However, the First Lady who is also the Vice president of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD), implored African women to join hands, arise and tell Africa’s correct story.
Zimbabwe has not been spared the media onslaught as it was portrayed as a country with acute human rights abuses.
This is despite the fact that under the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa, the country initiated reforms on major economic sectors and introduced the “Zimbabwe is open for business” mantra.
The New Dispensation crafted investor-friendly policies. The Third Eurasian Women’s Forum also presented an opportunity for women to discuss issues affecting them, share experiences and craft tangible solutions.
Here, the First Lady met delegates from over 100 countries and this allowed for the cross-pollination of ideas.
In a wide-ranging speech which left the business dialogue on the role of women in the integrated development of the African continent at the forum spellbound, the mother of the nation said the false and negative portrayal of Africa scuttled efforts to empower and develop the continent.
She added that the misrepresentation of facts about Africa in the media has affected partnerships among women around the globe and this is a major cause for concern as it makes women remain behind even in things they have capacity to do.
Furthermore, Amai Mnangagwa said it was critical for women to further their education and implored those in positions of authority not to forget their peers who are behind to achieve meaningful growth in women empowerment.
It was a first, since 1980, for Zimbabwe to be represented at the forum and the historic appearance can be credited to the hard work and philanthropic efforts by the First Lady.
“Women who are in positions must not forget other women who are behind. It is us women who should fight for each other.
“We should promote each other. I am glad this forum has brought us from Africa, meaning that the forum is now growing bigger because there is a lot of involvement and we are saying all women should come in to ensure this forum grows to greater heights so that it is recognised in the world that it is a forum for the world, for the women,” she said.
Amai Mnangagwa paid tribute to Russian President Vladmir Putin for exhibiting, in his keynote address to the forum on Thursday, that he knew challenges affecting women and acknowledged the significant role they play.
“I want to thank the President of this country Vladmir Putin. What he said in his speech was all about us women, how do we help women, expecting mothers, single parents, all women in general. Everything to do with women he spoke about it and we were very happy.
What President Putin said cuts across all the continents, all the countries that women are there to work for their families, they are the backbone of the homes and after that given the opportunity, they can grow and they can bring peace, bring humanity and development from the family level because that is where it starts,” she said.
The First Lady, who back home is leading from the front in ensuring that women participate fully in various income-generating projects as part of her multi-pronged empowerment drive, chronicled to the forum the various projects she is undertaking for the benefit of the womenfolk.
“As First Lady of Zimbabwe, I am encouraging and assisting women in vulnerable circumstances to go back to school. Regardless of where they are, what they are involved in, I want to make sure they are all educated.
I want to see all the women having bank accounts from what they are doing with their hands not waiting for the husband to come and say ‘thank you very much you have brought me bread’. Father, before you leave there is no salt,” she said.
Dependence on men, the First Lady said, was triggering gender-based violence (GBV) resulting in challenges in marriages.
“There is a lot of disharmony in families because the moment the woman is not capable or given the opportunity to get educated and work for herself, that marriage has no future and the country and community cannot develop. This is why we are saying women must be educated and be given opportunities,” she said.
The First Lady said it was fundamental for women to know their health and that of their families, including reproductive health.
“Women must learn to say ‘no’ to what they can’t take. I am encouraging women to stand for themselves and to show that they are a people who can work for themselves and who can decide what they want in life. We have also women, who because of situations, have become ladies of the night.
‘I have taken those women on board and said to them this is a very old profession, leave it because it will bring a lot of diseases and problems. At a later stage you will see that you have been destroyed. I want them to be educated so that they are able to fend for themselves and be a better people in the society.
“I have also advocated on health and diseases like non-communicable diseases (NCDs). You see our rural women, they are disadvantaged in terms of information, be it social network, it is not there, so I travel across the country talking to the women about their health and what they should know that concerns their lives.”
She decried the surge in deforestation and burning of grass saying this would have a bearing on climate change.
“As women we should make sure that we put our minds together and I say forward ever with this forum for women where we can discuss,” she said.
Sharing the platform with the First Lady was Liberian Vice President Mrs Jewel Howard Taylor who highlighted some of the achievements her country had made towards the advancement of women. She encouraged young women and girls to aim for greater heights.
“Women can coalesce around each other on particular projects or particular issues that affect entire lives. They either make good and break barriers or against a force of evil. Women are usually forces for good,” she said.
She said women can be what they choose to be as long as they are focused and committed. One of the panellists, Bineta Diop who is a special envoy for Women, Peace and Security of the Chairperson African Union Commission from Senegal who attended the forum virtually said women deserved honour as they played a significant role in all sectors including agriculture. She said they advocated that women be given access to land and markets.
“70 percent in Africa are women and we are advocating for women to access land and international markets,” she said.
Commenting on culture in Africa, Mrs Diop, commended the First Lady and the Liberian Vice President who were clad in their African attires for representing the continent well. Amai Mnangagwa was resplendent in a beautiful dress made from Zimbabwe’s national fabric.
The special envoy for women said there was need to showcase African products on the international market.
Madam Anna Belyaeva, the executive director Association of Economic Cooperation with African States (AECAS) told the forum that working with women from Africa was an eye-opener as what was peddled by the media did not match the reality on the ground.
“The objectives of our association are about coordination and steering our efforts in business moving towards Africa.
“From the perspective of women I would say we must see to it that we arrange trade missions of Russian companies and also that we arrange different forums in such companies. But it’s rather a difficult challenge because our mass media cover the African continent in such a way that it’s fraught with awful things like conflict. But after visiting the African continent for the first time, I keep telling Russian women they should do that and it’s not the way its covered by mass media,” she said.
Madam Belyaeva said contrary to the media reports, Africa had vast opportunities for growth and development.
The South African United Business Confederation commended Zimbabwe for establishing one of the most vibrant women’s banks, the Zimbabwe Women’s Microfinance Bank saying this was key in empowering women.
