Kachindamoto scoops another award
Senior Chief Theresa Kachindamoto of Dedza has won the New African Woman in Civil Society award during a ceremony held at a gala dinner in Dakar, Senegal on Wednesday.
The awards, which are in their second year, recognise, celebrate and honour African women who have made exceptional impact and change their countries or communities in the past 12 months, according to a statement made available to The Nation.
In the statement, organisers said Kachindamoto earned her recognition for her efforts in fighting early child marriages in her area and the nation at large.
Reads in part the statement: “Kachindamoto annulled over 300 child marriages in her village, a feat that played an important role in forcing the government to ban child marriages in the country altogether.”
The awards also saw Nigeria’s Amina J. Mohammed, the new United Nations Deputy Secretary, take home the New African Woman in Politics and Public Office.
Prior to her new post, Mohammed served as minister of Environment in Nigeria. She has played key roles in both the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on how both agendas impact on Africa.
The award for Woman in Health, Science and Technology went to Namibia’s Dr. Helena Ndume, a pioneering ophthalmologist and cataract surgeon who has to date performed over 35 000 sight restoring surgeries on Namibians completely free of charge.
The much-talked about New African Woman on the rise, a category which received the most nominations, went to Kenyan girls rights activist and UN women youth adviser Vivian Onano.
Recently, Kachindamoto won the coveted Vital Voices Leadership Award which was presented to her in he presence of Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan.
