Exceptionally, International Women’s Day was celebrated on February 25 in the presence of a host of guests. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth was the guest of honor at this celebration, which took place at the SVICC in Pailles in front of 8,000 people.
Hénry Rotile
The Swami Vivekananda International Conference Centre was packed on February 25 for the celebrations marking International Women’s Day, which is normally celebrated on March 8.
In her speech, Kalpana Koonjoo-Shan – Minister of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, praised the contribution of Mauritian women to society. The Minister also reiterated Pravind Jugnaugh’s commitment to supporting the advancement of women.
For his part, the Prime Minister added that his government intends to make an effort to ensure that there are more women candidates in the next general elections.
The Prime Minister also took advantage of his presence to announce the forthcoming construction of several houses to help those who do not yet have a roof over their heads.
Pravind Jugnauth will also indicate that the old-age pension will soon be uniformly increased to Rs 13,500.
The Prime Minister exhorted women and girls of the Republic of Mauritius to not only believe in themselves but also voice out their needs and aspirations and act upon them. He reassured women and girls of his determination to continue to work to better their life while providing them more opportunities to live up to their potential, improve their status, and increase their capacity and skills.
According to Mr Jugnauth, the introduction of a minimum salary, the augmentation of the basic pension, subsidies on basic commodities, the monthly Contribution Sociale Généralisée (CSG) income allowance, and the monthly CSG Child Allowance of Rs 2,000 for children under the age of three years old were additional measures put in place by Government that, he deemed, were positively impacting the life of women. However, the Prime Minister highlighted that much work is still needed to raise women’s representation and participation in the political sphere, though there are presently five women Ministers and four women Parliamentary Private Secretaries.
As for the UN Resident Coordinator in Mauritius and Seychelles, she commended Mauritius for the headways regarding women’s empowerment in several spheres. However, Ms Lisa Simrique Singh urged Government to address the low female representation in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) Education and the high female unemployment rate.
Launch of Gender Equality Seal for the Public Sector Competition.
It is recalled that the International Women’s Day is celebrated on 08 March every year, and in that context, several activities are being organised by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare. The national theme retained for this year is ‘More power to Women’.
During the national gathering in Pailles, the Prime Minister launched the Gender Equality Seal for the Public Sector Competition whose objective is to recognise and reward efforts and commitment of Ministries and Public Departments in promoting gender equality.
A clip on the theme ‘More power to Women’ was also presented. The winner and runners-up of the National Women Entrepreneurs Award 2024 were also announced and each received a shield and a cash prize.
