Women rights activists react to DRC first female PM

Women rights activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo have congratulated President Felix Tshisekedi for appointing Judith Suminwa as the first female prime minister in their country.

 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, took many Congolese by surprise. 

The Central African nation has never had a female prime minister since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. 

Judith Suminwa is an economist who worked in the banking sector and the UN before being appointed a minister of planning in 2023. 

She has taken over her new role amid an escalation of violence in the east of the DRC. But she promised to work towards peace and development. 

The new premier is tasked with forming a new government and executing the president's priorities of ending insecurity, uniting the country and fighting poverty.