Participants at the Pan African Women Organisation (PAWO) conference which was held in Luanda, Angola on 01-03 July, 2002 have urged political leaders to involve grassroots community in the planning of strategies to combat poverty.

In an interview with LENA, the Director of Gender, Mrs ‘Matau Futho-Letsatsi, said this was declared by women at a three-day PAWO conference on feminisation of poverty and armed conflict. 

Mrs Futho-Letsatsi, said the conference recommended that women should take part in issues of national interests that include electoral process of their countries by being represented in the top structures of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as well as in observers’ missions and in peace negotiations.

“The women called on African governments to integrate mainstream gender at all levels of the governments’ ministries to ensure equal opportunities at all level,” She added.

She said, participants recommend that there is a need to engender the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and African Union (AU) to ensure full participation of women not as observers, but as contributors. “NEPAD and AU should be for both men and women and this should be done through engendering all organs of AU.”

The conference was organised by Pan African Women Organisation with the objective of discussing the reduction of the effects of poverty by guaranteeing the economic empowerment of women and establish strategies that will help to rescue poor people from their present precarious state.

Participants were women drawn from various African countries include French speaking, English speaking and Portuguese speaking countries.

PAWO was established in July 1962 to work towards an efficient participation of African women in the social, economic and cultural development of their countries as well as to promote women rights and eliminate all forms of discriminations against women.

Lesotho was represented by Director of Gender ,Mrs Futho-Letsatsi. The President of Women’s League of African National Congress (ANC) Mrs Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was among the participants in the workshop.

09 July,2002