Patience Jonathan tasks African women on peace

Patience Jonathan, her husband, President Jonathan and Malawi President, Joyce Banda

AS the 7th Summit of the Africa First Ladies Peace Mission ends in Abuja, Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, has called for  concerted effort towards achieving  lasting peace and security in Africa.
She called on African women to work hard to change the vicious cycle of conflict and create a peaceful, stable and progressive continent.

Speaking at the end of the African First Ladies Peace Mission Summit yesterday in Abuja, Mrs. Jonathan observed that women need to play their roles in resolving some of the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, Somali and Cote d’ivoire among others by persuading their husbands, brothers and sons to embrace dialogue.

She said: “Women constitute majority among victims of war and conflict situations, we can no longer afford to sit in our comfort zones and do nothing as these impact negatively on our society. We must continue to canvass peaceful means of resolving conflicts in our society.

In a statement issued at the end of the summit, the first ladies noted with regret, the inability of African women to use their great potentials for the prevention and resolution of incessant conflicts on the continent and reiterated the need, at the national and sub-regional levels, to enhance the role of women in the process of prevention, management and resolution of conflicts and in promoting a culture of durable peace.

They highlighted the critical role African Women have continued to play in the socio-economic development of Africa and pointed out that the role of African women in the upkeep of the family as wives and mothers hold the key for breaking the vicious cycle of conflict and poverty, thereby serving as catalyst for peace and development.

The summit called for the removal of all barriers against women in order to release their full potential in resolving conflicts and promoting peace.
Culled from the Guardian