Nomzamo Mbatha To Deliver A Speech At The United Nations
Media personality and actress Nomzamo Mbatha has been invited by the president of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, to speak at the 75th General Assembly. This is not the first time as the star had previously addressed the UN headquarters at the Africa Dialogue.
This is in celebration of the Women’s Conference which was first held 25 years ago at the United Nations, which took place in Beijing, China. “Accelerating the realisation of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls” is the theme for this year.
Opening this year’s festivities is Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the secretary-general, president of the General Assembly and executive director of the United Nations.
Nomzamo Mbatha says she feels honoured to be part of this event this year, “It is an incredible honour to be a part of something so monumental. As a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, human migration is a global crisis that puts woman and girls in danger of so many social ills of society including being used as weapons of war.
“The genocide that is gender-based violence that continues to plague not only South African women but women on the continent as a whole is an urgent crisis,” said the actress.
Despite the pandemic delaying many of the important events that people look forward to every year, this particular one was not cancelled and Mbatha explains that there is an urgent call for action to take place.
“The agenda can never be postponed. Equal rights for all women and girls remains a human rights crisis. Beijing +25 is necessary, urgent and a true call to action for all members of society and every sector to make Generation Equality a cornerstone. To make the necessary pledges to eradicating the discrimination against women and girls everywhere,” she concluded.
At the Africa Dialogue held at the UN headquarters in Johannesburg, Nomzamo Mbatha, spoke on the importance of the cause, why she felt the need to come on board and how she felt the narrative needs to change.
Opening her speech before delivering a moving story on her trip to a refugee camp in Malawi, she said, “The call came at a time when my mind was already wrapped in making a difference through promotion of human welfare and social reform – speaking to the issues of tolerance of our different backgrounds and lending a helping hand in overcoming our various challenges.
“I was drawn to the cause mostly by seeing, daily, how African foreigners are received in our communities. Being a full time student at UCT, interacting with other students on campus has sensitized me to their struggles, even with the freedom of movement they have in South Africa, the experience is not of enjoyment as they are still living in fear, isolation and ridicule. That narrative needs to change to #ONEAFRICA,” said Mbatha.
