Hon. Lucia Dos Passos, third Vice President, is set to lead the Pan-African Parliament (PAP)’s celebrations of the Pan African Women’s Day on 31 July 2022.
Hon. Dos Passos has convened a working breakfast at the National Assembly of Cape Verde with Parliamentarians, Government officials, Diplomatic Corps and Civil society to candidly engage on this year’s theme: ‘Towards the African Women’s Decade: Realizing Women’s Human Capital through accelerated social and economic development, addressing the scourge of violence, food insecurity and good nutrition on the African continent’.
2022 marks the 60th anniversary of the Pan-African Women’s Organisation (PAWO), PAWO is Africa’s first collective women’s organization, which has contributed to the struggle for the continent’s liberation from colonialism, the elimination of apartheid and the eradication of gender inequalities, discrimination and injustices against women.
Since its establishment in 1962 in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, a year before the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union, PAWO’s mission has been to ensure that women’s concerns are integrated in Africa’s liberation agenda and that women participate, equally, fully and effectively, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the continent. PAWO, a Specialised Agency of the African Union, has played an important role in mobilizing African women on the continent and the Diaspora to rally around collective struggles for a free and prosperous Africa.
Similarly, in line with Rule 85 of its Rules of Procedure, the Pan-African Parliament has established the PAP Women’s Caucus to play an oversight role with regards to women’s rights and gender issues. It has been involved in the advocacy on the ratification, domestication and implementation of women’s human rights instruments including the African Protocol on Women’s Rights as well as monitoring the implementation of women’s human rights instruments on the continent. The Caucus is currently presided over by Hon. Amina Tidjani Yaya from Chad.
Hon. Dos Passos says that it is imperative that the PAP joins in the commemoration given that Pan-African Parliamentarians represent all the peoples of Africa and pursue the objective of, amongst others, facilitating the effective implementation of the policies and objectives of the AU as well as promoting the principles of human rights and democracy in Africa.
“Our commemorative event will aim to emphasise how the PAP has, since its inception, embarked on deliberate programmes including the promotion of the African Women’s Protocol as part of its drive to protect women’s rights and enhance gender equality and affirmative action for women across Africa. We will further explore how we can enhance our pivotal role in mobilizing parliamentarians as agents and champions of change,” says Hon. Dos Passos, third Vice President of the PAP.
