Mawit unveils first lady as patron

Malawi Women in Tourism (Mawit) today unveiled first lady Gertrude Muntharika as patron for the women network at Bingu International Conference Centre (Bicc).

Mawit was launched in 2014 as a direct response to improve the lives of women in tourism and is also a member of the Southern Africa Women in Tourism (Sawit).

In her acceptance speech, Muntharika said the initiative to establish Mawit was significant for advancing the development and promotion of tourism in Malawi where most of the players are women.

She said “You are aware that that government has not only made tourism central to its plans and programms but has also priotised issues of women in the national development agenda which is unprecedented”

She added that tourism sector as one of the strategic sectors for economic development provides various entry points for women employment, opportunities for creating self employment in small and medium income generating activities and leadership and decision making positions.

National coordinator for Mawit Lucy Saini said their objective is to use tourism as a vehicle for creating wealth in communities and support economic empowerment of woman at grassroots level through training and mentorship programs as well as addressing issues of gender based violence.

Mawit brings together a professional and business model for both the private and public sector and reflect on opportunities and challenges in the country mostly in the tourism sector.