Women’s Rights Activists Welcome DRC’s First Female PM

April 5, 2024 Hour: 7:42 pm

Women’s rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo have congratulated President Felix Tshisekedi on the appointment of Judith Suminwa as his country’s prime minister.

RELATED:
Zambia: Unity Essential to End Conflicts in DRC and Mozambique

They’ve hailed the move as a big step towards gender equality and are looking forward to an improvement in the country’s security and social conditions.

President Felix Tshisekedi’s appointment of Judith Suminwa as the country’s Prime Minister fulfills a campaign promise and marks a significant step towards gender equality in Congolese politics. The Central African nation has never had a female prime minister since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960.

Judith Suminwa Tuluka is an economist who worked in the banking sector and the UN before being appointed a minister of planning in 2023. She assumes her new role amid an escalation of violence in the east of the DRC.

#RDC: la désignation de Mme Judith Suminwa Tuluka au poste de Première ministre, par le Président de la République démocratique du Congo, Félix Tshisekedi Tshilombo, a été saluée vendredi, dans une déclaration faite à la presse à Kinshasa.

“Excellence Monsieur le Président de la… pic.twitter.com/Y1dtT8pwk0

— acpcongo.com (@acprdc_Officiel)
April 5, 2024

The tweet reads, “The appointment of Mrs. Judith Suminwa Tuluka as Prime Minister, by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi Tshilombo, was welcomed on Friday, in a statement to the press in Kinshasa. Your Excellency, the President of the Republic and Head of State, when the Congolese least expected it, it has pleased your high authority to appoint a woman as Prime Minister and Head of Government of our country, the DRC, in the person of Mrs. Judith Suminwa Tuluka, valiant Kongo girl,” declared Me Belinda Luntadila, representative of the Asbl “Femmes Ne Kongo.”

The new premier promised to work towards peace and development. Addressing the nation in her inaugural speech aired on state television, she pledged to prioritize peace and development efforts, particularly in the conflict-ridden eastern provinces.

Tuluka is tasked with forming a new government and executing the president’s priorities of ending insecurity, uniting the country and fighting poverty. This process is expected to involve extensive negotiations with various political factions.

Her appointment symbolizes a significant breakthrough in Congolese politics and offers hope for greater inclusion and women’s leadership in governance.