By JAMES KUNDA
FIRST Lady Esther Lungu has called for the recognition of the contribution to national development of women in the informal sector, as they are critical to the country’s economic growth.
Ms Lungu said most accolades targeting women who stood out in their careers of vocations were biased towards those in the formal sector while those operating in the informal sector went unrewarded even though they were also important contributors to the development of the nation.
The First Lady said this in Lusaka on Tuesday evening when she graced this year’s Zambia Women of the Year Awards ceremony.
“I challenge your organisation to spread its search so that women in the informal sector, who work in harsh settings, are also recognised and celebrated,” Ms Lungu said.
She said the ceremony should have a bias towards those that had not gone far in education, but had made a mark in their communities.

LUNGU

Ms Lungu said women should collaborate in eliminating vices that hindered individual or collective progress of the female folk.
Ms Lungu named these as gender-based violence, early marriages and girl-child defilement, among others.
She said the Zambian theme of this year’s international women’s day, ‘Promoting inclusiveness in economic participation as a means of attaining sustainable development’ was appropriate for the country.
This was because the country boasted of having women in influential positions such as the vice-presidency.
Zambia Women of the Year Awards organising committee chairperson Chilufya Phiri said the event had been held consistently for the past three years to recognise the efforts of women in national development.
Ms Phiri said it was the hope of her committee that the awards would inspire more women to be active in improving the country’s welfare.