Luanda — Angolan government officially opened Wednesday the Women's Month Programme, dubbed "March Woman", which will include throughout the month several activities dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of women.
The programme began with a lecture on World Zero Discrimination Day (March 1), held in Luanda promoted by the Ministry of Social Action, Family and Promotion of Women.
The Women's Month Programme aims at saluting and celebrating the conquests and participation of women in digital education, their involvement in new technologies and gender equity.
For this year, activities are planned in several fields namely political and citizenship, promotion of gender equality and equity and women empowerment, in addition to tributes to several women.
According to the minister of Social Action, Family and Women Promotion, Ana Paula do Sacramento Neto, who was speaking at the opening ceremony of the day, the government has been promoting policies and actions to secure equal treatment for all citizens.
The minister underlined that the country has signed and ratified some international, continental and regional agreements, with the aim to create a legal framework capable of protecting people and the most vulnerable social groups against all types of discrimination.
The minister cited as examples the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol.
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Ana Paula do Sacramento Neto explained that the MASFAMU has the difficult and challenging task of designing, promoting and implementing policies in favour of the most vulnerable people and groups, as well as promoting and ensuring gender equity and equality.
"There is an urgent need to continue to act, working hard to increasingly mitigate the levels of discrimination and social inequality that still exist in some fringes of society," the minister said.
The president of the Angolan Association of People with Disability, Venceslau Muginga, on his turn, said the government, in recent years, has made a great effort to reduce discrimination against people with disabilities.
He added that, despite the effort, discrimination against them is still very notable, mainly in public services, having defended the adoption of heavy measures for people who commit such act, in order to significantly change this reality.
