A new publication: Knowledge is the key to promote women’s rights

Parceiros

Dr. Samuel Quive(left) and Dr. Nair Teles from UEM with Julieta Sevene, UNDP Gender Programme Analyst.

Maputo, 8 December 2010 - UNDP and the Eduardo Mondlane University launched last week a book on Gender and Human Rights in Mozambique. The book is the first Mozambican publication to cover human rights from a gender perspective. It is written by Mozambican academics in the fields of law and sociology and it will be included in the appropriate curricula of the Eduardo Mondlane University, the largest university in the country.

“The protection of women’s rights is the core issue of development work on international and national level. It is important to raise and debate the issues like discrimination of women or the poor knowledge on women's rights. Therefore, the dissemination of women's rights must be included into the agenda of all actors in the development process”, said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Naomi Kitahara in her launch speech at the University.

Naomi in the interview 2

UNDP Deputy Resident Coordinator Naomi Kitahara.

“We are launching this book”, noted Ms. Kitahara, “with the conviction that the knowledge of gender and human rights in Mozambique, will reach both women and men not only at the national level but also at provincial and local levels. Knowledge is the key that changes people. Knowledge is the key for changing people’s ways of thinking and acting.”

To the audience composed of Government representatives, bilateral partners and students Naomi Kitahara’s personal story was an exceptional example of women’s rights for education and decision-making against the traditional, conservative rules deeply rooted to her home region of Japan.

“During my youth, in spite of my good school performance, I was constantly reminded that I should not study hard and try to go to a university because men will not marry me. All I had to do was to finish middle-level education, get married and have children.”

She told how her high school teacher instilled her with the knowledge about the importance of the women of our generation to get a university degree and pursue a professional career.

“Today, I have two Master's degrees, I have a professional career in the UN system, I am married, and a mother of two children. And I have not stopped yet.”

Audience

Students of Sociology were well presented at the launch.

The partnership that UNDP has with the Department of Sociology of the Eduardo Mondlane University started in 2008 with the creation of a course on Gender and the training of a lecturer on Gender. In the first phase, these activities also counted with the collaboration of WLSA (Women in Law in Southern Africa), a regional organization that has also made great efforts to promote women's rights.

UNDP has also supported several research projects and contributed to strengthening the capacity of the Department of Sociology in their Gender research. The book “Género e Direitos Humanos em Moçambique” is also part of the United Nation’s joint programme on Gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The book will be widely available in the national libraries and the libraries of the institutions of higher education in Mozambique. Besides the printed Portuguese version, the book is published on this website both in English and Portuguese.