Eswatini kicks off UN75 dialogues with 300 women from all walks of life

“It was a long day of powerful, emotional, forceful and necessary conversations – a beautiful day and we are stronger and happier for it” says Ms. Fanele Fakudze, one of over 300 women who attended the first-ever Women Empowerment Forum at the Royal Swazi Sun Convention Centre, Ezulwini Valley, in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

The forum, hosted by the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office with support from the United Nations Development System in Eswatini, was organised as part of the UN75 initiative launched by the UN Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, in October 2019 and which aims to promote dialogues with different sectors across the world on the role of international cooperation in building an ideal future. The feedback from these physical and online dialogues will be presented to world leaders and senior UN officials at the UN General Assembly in September 2020.

In his opening address, Deputy Prime Minister, Senator Themba Masuku highlighted the importance of involving men in conversations aimed at empowering women. He revealed that he had interesting conversations with men attending the Incwala ceremony on the Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act and realised that more men need to be engaged on the subject. “Empowerment shouldn’t just be a woman agenda, it should be inclusive, driven by all of us” he said.

UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Nathalie Ndongo-Seh could not hold back tears of emotion and joy when, at the end of the meeting, Ms. Bella Katamzi, the leader of Lutsango Regiment, a traditional troop of Eswatini women,  welcomed her to join the group with a song and a gift of traditional regalia. Ms. Katamzi showered the Resident Coordinator with praises for her boldness in promoting dialogues to tackle challenges faced by people in Eswatini. “You have touched the core of who we are as a nation” Ms. Katamzi. “This is how we used to tackle our issues in the olden days but unfortunately we have long stopped.”

Ms. Ndongo-Seh encouraged the women to follow the global conversations aimed at shaping their future. “I encourage all of us to join the global conversations to tackle the issues currently facing the world, including the climate change crisis, inequality, new patterns of violence and the major changes we are seeing in population and technology in order to achieve the SDGs – which is our shared vision for the future,” she stated.

Following various presentations to empower and inspire the women through testimonials from GBV, teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse survivors as well as the Eswatini farmer of the year and a Member of the Parliament, along with poems and music, the meeting broke into seven group discussions.  

The group discussions focussed on (i) Health and social welfare, (ii) politics and leadership, (iii) culture and religion (iv) agriculture and entrepreneurship, (v) education  and technology, (vi) sexual violence, and (vii) climate action and the environment. For each topic, the groups discussed achievements, bottlenecks/challenges, aspirations and recommendations for an ideal future.

The Forum was attended by women from all walks of life, including the informal sector, community-based organisations, youth groups and traditional regiments. Plans are underway to organise similar dialogues in 2020 with different groups and sectors, including the youth, people with disability, academia and faith-based organisations throughout the country.