First Lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, joins the fight against gender violence
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The unconditional support of the first lady of Angolabecomes a lever to drive policies and programs capable of improving the living conditions of families, through universal access to reproductive sexual health and combating gender-based violence. This support was expressed on November 25th, in a Webinar that marked the beginning of the 16-day campaign for women's rights and gender parity, led by MASFAMU, with technical support from UNFPA.
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The first lady of Angola showed unconditional support for universal access to sexual reproductive health, and joins the campaign to obliterate violence against women, which the Ministry of Acção Social, Família e Protecção da Mulher (MASFAMU) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) launched on November 25th. Ana Dias Lourenço was one of the prominent participants in the start of the 16-day activism for women rights and gender parity.
“Protecting angolan women against violence and promoting equal oportunities was the slogan of the 16-day activism organized by MASFAMU and UNFPA. The webinar to present the program was attended by the first lady of Angola, Ana Dias Lourenço, who reaffirmed the necessity of working on policies and programs aiming to improve living conditions of families by fighting gender violence, " I would like to reiterate my commitment to keep our girls in school, our women with access to decent work and families free from violence”, stressed the First Lady. She also considered that: “girls' education, universal access to sexual reproductive health, the fight against gender violence and the protection of the abused must be priorities in our country”. According to Ana Dias Lourenço, in Angola, where there is one of the highest fertility rates in the region, special attention should be paid to the relationship between gender violence and teenage pregnancy and more serious in pre-adolescence, as a major violation of human rights.
In her brief speech, Justine Coulson, Deputy Regional Director of the UNFPA East and Southern Africa Office, mentioned how this annual campaign is being productive with solid and positive results, creating strong partnerships between governments and civil society. The actions focus mainly on solving problems like teenager pregnancy, maternal mortality, child marriage, domestic violence and sexual assault on women and youngs. According to UNFPA, at least a third of Angolans have already suffered some type of violence and 35% of Angolan teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age had at least one child.
MASFAMU and UNFPA campaign was launched in the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic increased levels of gender-based violence by 30% globally. Besides Ana Dias Lourenço, other personalities participated in the event, such as Dr. Carolina Cerqueira - Minister of State for Social Affairs, Dr. Faustina Alves – Minister of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion, Zahira Virani – United Nations Resident Coordinator in Angola, Dra. Joana Lina Cândido - Governor of Luanda Province and the model Maria Borges
