Tuesday, August 07, 2007
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The creation of a pan-African women's bank could help reduce poverty in Africa by empowering women, the organisers of a women's conference to be held in Johannesburg later this year said on Tuesday."You cannot fight poverty if you are not ready to save money. Our goal is the creation of a pan-African bank for women before 2010," said Eno Ben-Udensi, director of Nigeria's "Glorious Women" organisation that initiated the project.
"Poverty is the cause of violence, crime, unemployment, divorce, prostitution. That's why we are focusing on this issue."
The second Pan-African Women Conference will see women involved in politics, economics, religion and education debating ways to free women and their families from the shackles of poverty through economic empowerment.
"One of the issues that came out at last year's conference was the need to start saving schemes as women in Africa. We know that we cannot eradicate poverty with credit," said Sindy Dastile, managing director of South African co-operative Masimbonge, which finances micro-businesses run by women.
The conference, to be held from October 15-17, will bring together about 3 000 delegates from 53 countries.
Ben-Udensi said women's affairs ministers from Angola, Somalia, Rwanda, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo would attend the conference, as well as Kenyan women's activist and 2005 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.
Source: AFP, Aug 07, 2007