Chapo calls on OMM to step up women’s empowerment

Maputo, 14 Apr (AIM) – Mozambican President Daniel Chapo on Tuesday urged the Mozambican Women’s Organisation (OMM), the women’s affiliate of the ruling Frelimo Party, to step up women’s empowerment.

Speaking in Maputo, in his capacity as President of Frelimo, Chapo opened a session of the National Council of the OMM, intended to reflect on how the organisation is functioning and its priorities for intervention.

He stressed the historic role of Mozambican women from the days of the national liberation struggle. “Mozambican women are the driving force of society, the guardian of the values of the family and the protagonist of the struggle for national liberation, the consolidation of peace and the development of the country”, he said.

The OMM “is not just any organisation”, Chapo said. “It is the living continuation of the Women’s Detachment (of the guerrilla army in the anti-colonial war) and “a school of patriotism, awareness, values, mobilisation and social transformation”.

The OMM, he continued, should grow, not only numerically, but also in its capacity for intervention. Chapo called for mobilisation around the fight against poverty the education of girls and the promotion of a business spirit among women.

He stressed the newly created Fund for Women’s Economic Empowerment “as an instrument to support productive projects and to expand income creating opportunities”.

Chapo regarded the fight against gender-based violence as a priority and called on the OMM to play a central role in this struggle.

“ Violence must never be normalised or relativised”, he declared. “When women advance, the nation advances. When women are empowered, society is transformed”.
(AIM)
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