Lusaka, Thursday (October 24, 2024)
Irish Ambassador to Zambia Bronagh Carr has observed that women are usually left out in the history of the independence struggle.
This came to light during a two-day conference on forgotten heroes and heroines of Zambia’s independence struggle in Lusaka, organized by the Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula Foundation in collaboration with the Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR), with support from the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Ms Carr cited the most recent conflict in Ireland, where women’s roles as combatants, peacebuilders, influencers, and sufferers of the impact of war have often been deliberately overlooked and excluded.
She provided an example from the 1916 Rising, where a member of the Irish Women’s Republican Army, nurse Elizabeth O’Farrell, was effectively airbrushed out of a photograph, with only her feet showing.
Ms. Carr said the exclusion persisted until the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising when O’Farrell was reinstated.
In commemorating and celebrating 60 years of Zambia’s independence, Ms. Carr expressed hope that the conference and other work being taken forward by SAIPAR would be a catalyst for further exploration and acknowledgment of the role of women in Zambia’s independence.
She hoped that in the post-60-year period, the role of women in politics, development, academia, and public leadership would be significantly advanced, something that needs to happen in Zambia.
She said that this would be a fitting legacy to the heroes and heroines of Zambia’s independence, a legacy of which everyone could be proud.
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