1, 700 women vendors benefit from Safe City program

About 1,700 women vendors from the Gerehu, Koki and Gordons Markets are benefiting from the United Nations Safe City Program.

The program seeks to increase women’s engagement in market activity, through addressing some of the risks to safety that women vendors and customers face traveling to and from, and working in the markets.

Executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said out of a total of 2,000 vendors, 85 percent are women and the safety that the women experience as a result of the program is priceless.

Alongside the National Capital District Commission, the police and vendor association are ensuring that the markets are a safe place to sell produce and earn a living.

Mlambo-Ngcuka, who was in the country last week, said women are in markets selling their goods because women’s economic empowerment and leadership becomes truly inspirational when it is bottom up.

Mlambo-Ngcuka said results from a study they did this year on women’s economic empowerment showed the importance and the role of women in the informal sector.

“We are beginning to look at ways in which we could use the results of the study to further support initiatives such as this where women in the market are already organised.

“Therefore in that organisation is the capacity for them to do even more things for themselves.

“To support children better, to grow their businesses, learn to read and write to manage their resources which is something already happening in PNG,” she said.

Mlambo-Ngcuka added that coming together is a multi-purpose initiative.

She said it is about making the businesses work, making sure that women are safe and that there’s a bond of sisterhood and solidarity between and amongst women.

She stressed that it is about bringing men to work with women so that there’s greater appreciation.

Author: 
Quintina Naime