Africa-Press – Cape verde. The first International Forum “Women and the Challenges of Development” paid tribute this Thursday, in the city of Praia, to 50 Cape Verdean women residing in the country and in the diaspora who stood out throughout the 50 years of national independence.
One of the honorees, Elisabete Mendes, thanked the organization of this event for distinguishing some women who contributed and who are still fighting for the growth of Cape Verde, considering that this recognition is “very good”.
She recalled that she held several public positions and in international organizations, which is why she considered this tribute to be “very important” for her and took the opportunity to urge all women to continue working for the development of Cape Verde.
Elisabete Mendes highlighted the “great journey” that women have taken during these 50 years of national independence, but argued that they need to create and gain “more confidence” to do more in various areas of activity that put women in better economic conditions.
“I would like to see women less shy,” she said.
The 50 Cape Verdean women living in the country and in the diaspora who were honored are Joana Rosa, Janira Hopher Almada, Adelcia Pires, Isabel Moniz, Lourença Lopes, Judith Nascimento, Herminia Curado, Esther Sequeira, Filomena Fortes, Filomena Carvalho, Maria Helena Semedo, Isabel Inês, Isaura Gomes, Josefina Chantre, Adelaide Lima, Amália Lopes, Dina Salústio, Edelfride Almeida, Ondina Ferreira, Elisabete Mendes, Elisabeth Moreno and Elisabeth Fernandes.
One of the event’s promoters, Maria da Ressurreição Graça, explained that selecting the names of those honored was a “very difficult” task, given that so many women have made and continue to make their contribution to the life of this country.
“It was not easy at all, there are so many women who could and deserved to be here, women who from the first steps of independence until today have shaped our society, with their actions, often invisible and transformative voices”, she highlighted.
He further stated that choosing just 50 names was a “painful” exercise, stating that each name chosen represents many others that were left out, not for “lack of merit”, but because of the “harshness” of a “symbolic and unlimited” number.
“This is not a podium, it is a mirror, it is a collective call to memory, justice, and continuity”, he explained, also explaining that one of the important criteria for this selection is that these women had to be alive, that is, he argued that tributes should be made when people are alive so that they feel more valued.
As he explained, this tribute aims to recognize the trajectory, merit and contribution of 50 women who, from the date of independence to the present, have stood out in the fields of fishing, health, academic, cultural, sporting, economic, political and social, that is, transversal.
As he explained, the choice of these names was not based on political color or position, but rather on the contribution they made to the development of Cape Verde.
For the Secretary of State, Lídia Lima, who presided over the act of honoring these women, this tribute is “fair” because, as she explained, women “have contributed and continue to contribute” to the development of Cape Verde.
He said that since independence, women have worked in various areas, driven by the inspiration, courage, strength, determination and spiritual elevation of these women who have been collaborating.
“There are many women who have been collaborating, today they are being honored, women who have been outstanding figures, standing out at a social level and in various sectors, but we have many other women who have made a great contribution to the development process of this country”, declared the governor.
The event took place at the Convention Center of the University of Cape Verde (Uni-CV), in Praia, and precedes the First International Forum “Women and the Challenges of Development”, to be held on May 30, as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of National Independence.
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