"There are already two female heads of state, and the head of the African Union Commission is a woman. In some parts of this world, women are not allowed anywhere near positions of power," she said.
Liberia's Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson is Africa's first female head of state while former South African Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma is the first woman to head the AU Commission.Banda stated that she has experienced the pain of losing a child at birth and now she is on a mission to curb maternal deaths in her country and the continent. "We should not die when we bring a life to this world. We should live," she said to a round of applause.
Banda said that her country is keen to learn from Botswana's policies on trade and investment, mining, infrastructure development and other initiatives to grow the economy. "Botswana is a country of great significance, and in many ways, a model of progress in Africa. This is a result of the vision and integrity of the great leaders that this country has had since independence," Banda said.
