To commemorate International Women's Day 2018, which was on the 8 March, the President of the Republic, Mr Danny Faure, met with the Executive Committee of Women in Action and Solidarity (WASO), at State House. This was his first meeting with the Committee which is chaired by Mrs Rosemary Elizabeth.

President Faure extended his profound gratitude and that of the People of Seychelles, for WASO's hard work and dedication in creating as well as developing a strong network to empower the Seychellois women. President Faure affirmed his support to put in place effective measures that will enable WASO to attain its targets in tackling various social challenges.

“Government will continue to support and encourage you to meet your aspirations. We need to have strong and genuine partnerships to be able to tackle socials ills. You know the different problems occurring in the society and we need to empower you to address those issues,” said President Faure.

The President urged the Executive Committee to work in close collaboration with the Ministry of Family Affairs as the focal point, in order to deal with common issues of society. He also committed the support of other ministries that will provide assistance to the WASO agenda.

During the meeting, the members shared solutions for the issues being faced by society and provided suggestions to empower families to function as healthy nuclei of society. The WASO proposal included family programmes on media, seminars and workshops to educate and enlighten women on values, and skills development programmes amongst others.

The President also described the current government initiatives that would allow both women and men to live productive lives in Seychelles. The Executive Committee was presented with four computers which will be based at their headquarters.

Also present at the meeting this morning, was the Minister for Family Affairs, Mrs Jeanne Simeon, and Deputy Cabinet Secretary, Mrs Margaret Pillay.