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U.S. Embassy, WUA host women's rights activist lecture

by Staff reporter
28 Jun 2013 at 20:16hrs | Views
The United States Embassy and Women's University in Africa will on Friday July 5th host the third Hope/Fay Lecture focusing on gender equality and women's empowerment.  Zimbabwean born women's rights activist Ms. Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda will deliver the keynote address on the topic, "The Imperatives of a New Narrative in Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: From Global Commitment to Community Impact."

The event starts promptly at 10am at the WUA Auditorium (Cnr Upper East and Brighton Rd, Mt Pleasant, Harare).  The lecture is free and open to members of the public but due to limited seating, reservations can be made by e-mail to events@wua.ac.zw or by phone on 332131/2.  Please RSVP by June 29th .

The Hope/ Fay Lecture series is an initiative of WUA and the U.S. Embassy to increase engagement on  issues facing women today in Zimbabwe and globally.  The series hosts two featured speakers each year on topical issues.  The inaugural lecture was held in April 2012 and featured Elinor Sisulu, Zimbabwean-South African writer, human rights activist and political analyst.  London-based Senegalese-born blogger, technologist and social entrepreneur Mari√ɬ©me Jamme was guest speaker in November 2012.

Ms. Gumbonzvanda is the General Secretary of the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA), which works to advance the status of women and girls worldwide, promoting young women's active leadership on issues affecting their lives and bringing the voices of women from grassroots communities into global debates.  The organization covers over 106 countries with a reach of 25 million women and girls.  She previously served as Regional Director for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Eastern and Horn Africa covering 13 countries.

Ms. Gumbonzvanda has a Master's degree in Private Law with a specialization in Constitutional Property Law from the University of South Africa and completed postgraduate work on conflict resolution at Uppsala University, Sweden.  She is active within the women's rights movement and is a member of such organisations as Women in Law and Development in Africa, Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, and the World Conference on Religion and Peace.  She serves on the Advisory Board for the African Centre for Women, Information and Communications Technology.

Ms. Gumbonzvanda recently founded the Rozaria Memorial Trust (RMT), a charity organisation established in honour of her late mother, a role model in her community in Murehwa, Zimbabwe. In recognition of her approach to women's empowerment in communities, Ms. Gumbonzvanda has been awarded life membership status by the Maendeleo Ya anawake Organisation, a grassroots organisation with over 4 million members.  Ms. Gumbonzvanda is widely published and enjoys poetry.  She is married and has two children.

Since its establishment 11 years ago, WUA has worked to increase the opportunities, capacities and confidence of Zimbabwean women so that they have greater opportunities for employment and participation in national development programmes.

Source - usembassy