The First Lady of Zambia Mrs. Esther Lungu arrived in New York on Tuesday to participate in the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60).
The CSW60 opened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday 14 March 2016 with a priority theme focusing on women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development.
According to the statement released to the media by Zambia’s First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the United Nations, Mr Chibaula D. Silwamba, the CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota, diplomatic staff and Zambian delegates to the CSW60, welcomed the First Lady in New York.
Mrs. Lungu has won local and international recognition for her role in championing empowerment of women, girls and differently abled persons.
At the CSW60, Mrs. Lungu will attend high-level meetings and hold talks with different personage.
The First Lady will participate in a meeting on realizing women’s economic empowerment in rural areas through cooperatives and micro-enterprises experiences from Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and middle Income countries organized by the Governments of Italy, Fiji, Mongolia and Solomon Islands.
Mrs Lungu will participate in an event on Africa’s year of human rights with particular focus on the rights of women: opportunities and challenges, which is being organized by the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA) and another event focusing on how gender leads – innovation, perspective and leadership organized by UN Women, UNDP and UNFPA as well as at the meeting on Operationalising the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development for women and girls with disabilities organized by UN DESA, UN Women and the UK. The Zambian First Lady will also participate at a meeting on investing in women’s nutrition for sustainable societies organized by the WHO, UNICEF and FAO and the pastoral care of women and girls on the street in response to the phenomenon of children, women earning a living or living on the streets and their families organized by the Holy See.
Mrs. Lungu will hold talks with senior officials of Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Gender Minister Prof. Nkandu Luo is leading the Zambian delegation to the annual meeting. Tourism and Arts Minister Jean Kapata, Gender Permanent Secretary Edwidge Mutale, His Royal Highness Chief Nyamphande of the Nsenga people, some senior civil servants, the women’s movement representatives and other civil society members are in the Zambian delegation.
Zambia has hosted several side-events at CSW60, showcasing the country’s best practices, successes and challenges in fighting Gender-Based-Violence (GBV) and initiatives being implemented to empower women and girls. The side-events also highlight the involvement of traditional leaders and men in combating GBV.
Using who’s money? Even failed to speak against PF cadres’ unruly behavior against UPND female supporters. PF is one joke that will one will always make an effort to make sense in order to be tickled.
Chizzy Metal Production.
I always feel sad for that woman
I agree with you Spark jarrow, I expected Esther Lungu to be the first one to castigate the stripping of that young girl. She calls herself the mother of the nation?
Not your money Spark Jarrow, usually these trips are funded by the UN.
Esther has been sent away so that Mumbi Phiri can have free reign. She was sweeping the ‘yard, at Nkwazi house this morning.
@ Mulenga Lungu, and where does the UN get the money from?
Every Nation has to make a contribution to the UN budget, and this comes out of the National budget funded by the TAXPAYERS!
Think before you make dull comments!
Nika lasti mama
WILL ADDRESS WOMEN AT THE MEETING WHILE PUBLICLY UNDRESSING THE SAME WOMEN LOCALLY .
What recognition has she gained if she cannot speak out against the shameful things her husband is doing against innocent women. Striping women in public, parading young girls as sex symbols just for him to gain political mileage. To me she is just hoping up and down to make money like her husband. She is not relevant.
Really laughable…gain recognition for free travel and having a limitless undisclosed budget.
Zambia’s First Lady has become a seasoned representative of our country. She has quietly gone about her mandated duties as the support to The Republican President of Zambia. She is capable of making a good contribution in all the meetings she is scheduled to attend. It is worth to note she’s in an entourage with other very capable Gov’t ministers, such as Professor Luo and Hon.kapata among others in this diverse group. Between them our Gender issues will be addressed. There is a lot of Gender violence in many forms in Zambia. People feel they can degrade women with inappropriate gender based sexually charged comments. Some responses on the Page on Energy, concerning Dora Siliya are quiet shocking. We need men in Zambia to actually start listening and understanding that Gender…
We need men in Zambia to actually start listening and understanding that Gender Equalities us not a current Fad. If we condemn the violence to the young youth stripped naked by alleged PF supporters; we can’t then repeat the violence to other Party Representatives in tit for tat actions. And more importantly, WOMEN must address violence to one another and stop putting other women down across Party Lines.
First Lady is not a political Player therefore she cannot speak out on the Unfortunate Stripping of the Youth on youth day. She is bound by Protocol. Nonetheless that does not merit an attack on her character and capability.
Ati bwanji?!?
Esther you failed to stand up and speak for the girl who was stripped naked in your own country and you claim to be mother of all, yet you rush to attend women functions talking about their rights and empowerment. Hypocrisy….hope you inform them that your vp was just watching the demise of the girl, you’re pathetic……
These trips by the ‘First lady’ are becoming too frequent and suspicious. Who knows where she goes to after heavy shopping in New York. Isn’t it an opportunity to deposit huge sums of ill-gotten US Dollars into foreign banks?
I am sure the UN can be advised on who should attend these meetings. I think someone like Professor Nkandu Luo or Catherine Namugala would have been the best to represent Zambia. They are educated, eloquent and have been leaders for many years whereas Esther Lungu can hardly express herself in English and even reading from a prepared script is a problem for her.
The trend must stop. We know they are desperate and worried that their time is short and must make a kill very quickly, August is around the corner.
Did they charter another 300,000-00 DOLLAR airplane for this AGAIN?
Can Zambians know how their hard earned tax money is being spent by this PF Government on this?
Strange how First Ladies in developed countries are so quiet. You hardly hear them unless the invite children to the President/Prime minister’s residence etc. Touring the country at taxpayers expense is out of the question let alone leading delegations to international conferences.
Anyway this is Zambia. Actually the First Lady would have made herself and State House a good name if she had come out to sympathize with that girl PF thugs stripped. That is how you gain motherhood and not by merely being the spouse of an elected official.
I wonder what the first Lady is doing there, as there are matters which have been put before her and her husband on on they have embarked on harassing persecting, extorting and stealing from a Zambian retuned UN Diplomat, just because she is a woman who has been to the UN and they are unconfortable with her status. Relatives and people with the same name as the President have abused the court process, to steal fro such UN returned female Diplomat and several letters were writien to her husn=band and herself to look into such persecution, but they have been silent. Meaning that they ordered the persecution and ought to be extradited to the ICC instead of her cheating at the UN. Like former Ivory Coast leader and his wife. I was not aware of such meeting earlier otherwise, I would protest…
We are broke. Spend more time in the country and talk about the female appreciation