Lubumbashi: 2 Groups of Women Celebrate 8 March but, Separately

Lubumbashi, 8 March 2011 – International Women's Day was celebrated throughout Katanga province, but with more fervor in the capital Lubumbashi, where a three-hour parade drew women from all walks of life. At the end of the parade, the Provincial Minister for Gender, Women and Children appealed to her peers to seek and go out after opportunities offered to them. In particular, she urged them to take part in the country's general elections expected to be held this year.

To commemorate the Day, a separate group of women working for the mining group, SODIMCO, used the opportunity to fast and meditate, thereby demonstrating their anger at the authorities for the terrible conditions under which they work. These conditions have been on going for years without any check.

Female staff members from the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and other UN Agencies took part in the parade, marching along their Congolese sisters. They also organized fund-raising activities to assist the town's orphanage.

Tahirou Diao/MONUSCO