Kinshasa, 9 March 2011 – Women of the Democratic Republic of Congo joined their counterparts the world over to celebrate the first 100 years of the International Women's Day on March 8. This year's theme was: "Equal access to education, training, science and technology for all men and women as well as boys and girls - access to equal opportunities in an equally representative Congo". Hundreds of women from around Kinshasa, the country's capital, staged a big parade and marched past the historical "Palais du Peuple."

The UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) organized its own ceremony on 9 March at the Ghanaian contingent's Headquarters in Kinshasa. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Roger Meece, was represented by MONUSCO's Police Commissioner, Abdallah Wafy. In his message, Mr. Meece paid special tribute to the Mission's female staff for their "good contributions to the success of the Mission," and highlighted the fact that "women are still under-represented in public institutions, contrary to the provisions of the Security Council Resolution 1325", solely devoted to women.

Fathya Waberi/ MONUSCO