Luanda, Angola (PANA) – The Angolan government held last week its first national rural women consultation forum to readjust its national development plan in order to meet their concerns.
The forum was preceded by similar consultations within communes, districts and regions, the results of which will be used to outline a support programme for rural women.
Angola’s Minister of Family and Women Affairs, Filomena Delgado, said that the objective is to implement a national programme for supporting rural women by taking their concerns into account in the government budget for next year.
“The forum is the result of consultations and we are considering harmonising all concerns in the outline of a national programme that would support rural women,” she said, elaborating that through the initiative, the Angolan government will achieve the participation of rural women in the country’s development process.
During the meeting, held under the theme “Participation of rural women in the development process”, Delgado said that each region has had a representative who evaluated the consultations held in districts, villages and cities.
Official statistics showed that 2,168 women, representing the country’s 18 regions, took part in the national forum.
The rural women consultation forum was launched simultaneously in the 18 regions to promote a bigger integration of women in Angola’s inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development process.
The initiative has taken into consideration a set of productive actions to strengthen the capacity of rural women in the management of small business, elimination of illiteracy and promotion of income generating activities.
Another objective is to enable the creation of small local economic development groups as a means for reduction of poverty and gender inequalities, and thus improve the social and security conditions for women and families.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos said that conclusions of the forum will be adopted as a base for the government to readjust the national development programme for Angolan women.
