AfricaPress-Tanzania: TANZANIA on Monday received a large consignment of essential commodities to support women in peacekeeping at the Peacekeeping Training Centre in Kunduchi, Dar es Salaam.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr Khalifa AbdulRahman Al Marzouqi handed over the consignment to the Minister of Defence and National Service, Elias Kwandikwa, who was accompanied by other senior government officials and senior officers from the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF).
The consignment which comprises items including sanitary ware, a mix of hygiene and health items and toiletries is a gift from Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak of the UAE.
Speaking at the handover ceremony Ambassador Al Marzouqi said the initiative aims at enhancing women’s participation in the security and peace sectors, establishing networks to support them around the world, and achieving the strategic goals of UN Resolution 1325, which emphasized the importance of women’s effective participation in establishing peace and maintaining security by focusing on providing the necessary training for women’s cadres.
He explained that the initiative in 2018 facilitated the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the UAE and the UN Women to hold a series of trainings that saw 357 women from the Arab, African and more from 17 countries in Asia being trained in support of the UN Resolution 1325.
“This pioneering training programme is sponsored by the UAE government and hosted by the Khawla Bint Al-Azwar School in Abu Dhabi, which achieved unprecedented successes and accomplishments within two years. It is the first of its kind in the world to train women from brotherly and friendly countries on military action, which demonstrates in practical terms the support of the UAE to empower women in all sectors,” said Ambassador Al Marzouqi.
Following the success of the first training course, an agreement between the UAE and UN Women was reached to expand the scope of participation to include more countries from Africa and Asia in an initiative unprecedented in the history of the international organisation.
“Empowerment of Women is one of the main pillars of the National agenda of the UAE, which has always supported the establishment of peace and security around the world and believes that the presence of women in peace building process is fundamental to its success,” he said.
On his side Minister Kwandikwa expressed his gratitude to work with partners such as the UAE, who are supporting government’s efforts to promote the inclusion of women in the male-dominated sectors such as the peace and security.
Minister Kwandikwa said women in peacekeeping are great role models for girls both in Tanzania and in the countries where they are deployed to work.
“This is one critical sector we should continue to invest in to change the face of peacekeeping troops, and ensure the inclusion of more women, especially in decision making positions. It will also inspire girls and encourage them to join the military, and aim higher,” said Mr Kwandikwa.
Tanzanian women peacekeepers, he said, continue to participate in peace processes, including taking on political roles, leading disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants, and providing trainings on income-generating projects, and health education to women in the local communities, as well as supporting survivors of gender-based violence.
