WOMEN SPECIAL ......WOMEN WITH A MISSION (5)

WOMEN WITH A MISSION (5)

Just Like Home

Judith Kapijimpanga Zambian High Commissioner

Reached India: January 2017

Credentials: Was high commissioner in different African countries, including Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.

Was also the cabinet minister What she loves in India: Street food

Judith Kapijimpanga likes to call herself the new kid on the block, having arrived in Delhi in January this year and presenting her credentials last month. This is her first posting outside Africa, and she's excited that she is in a neighbourhood that has so many women heading diplomatic missions, including a few from Africa like Botswana, Uganda and Kenya. Kapijimpanga is all set to focus on economic diplomacy and enhancing bilateral ties with India.

“This is my first time in India, but I feel at home because back in Lusaka we have a large community of people of Indian origin and I even went to school with some of them,“ she says. While people of Indian origin in Zambia have traditionally been merchants, traders and businesspeople -most of them being fourth-gener ation Zambians with roots in diverse Indian states -many are making forays into manufacturing and agri indus tries. “Historically, since the time of Mahatma Gan dhi, our two countries have been natural part ners and now the Indian government is provid ing collaborative support in key areas of infrastructure, health and education. But I would also like to see more exchange in tourism because we have a lot to offer such as wildlife and the famous Victoria Falls. We want Indian inves tors to tap our country,“ she says.

A mother of four, she looks forward to her two daughters and son attending school and college in Delhi. “My eldest daughter is going to college in Tanzania while my husband has stayed back in Zambia to look after his business,“ says the high commissioner, who is upbeat about a new era of gender equality in her country, with women being accepted in all walks of life, from senior positions in policymaking to loading trucks.

Ishani Duttagupta

ETM5MAR17