UNHCR lauds Zambian women for role in hosting refugees

The United Nations refugees agency in Zambia commended the role of women in the southern African nation in hosting refugees ahead of the commemoration of the International Women's Day, which falls on March 8, a statement obtained on Wednesday said. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Zambia Laura Lo Castro said women in Zambia have played a pivotal role in hosting refugees, adding that the role the women have played in hosting the refugees over the years has been critical to the institution of asylum and the open-door policy the country has continued to embrace. "As we commemorate International Women's Day on Saturday, and as we celebrate Zambia's 50 years of independence this year, the UNHCR recognizes the enormous role Zambian women have played in hosting refugees for over 50 years now," she said. "The Zambian society should provide more support to the under- privileged, especially the elderly women who are independence veterans. The elderly were those who received and embraced the first waves of refugees in Zambia. Even before authorities came in to assist, the women in villages cooked and fed the refugees," she added. Zambia currently hosts 53, 111 people of concern mainly from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and Somalia, according to the UNHCR.