Source: Nernama
The percentage of women in the Mozambican armed forces has risen from 4.5 to five per cent in recent year but is still low in comparison with other southern African countries, according to the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The figures were announced here at a meeting of a working group from SADC'S Inter-State Defence and Security Committee to discuss matters on women in the armed forces, Mozambique news agency reported.

The SADC country with the highest percentage of women in uniform is South Africa, which has 27 per cent female in the armed forces, while Tanzania is working to ensure that 30 per cent of its armed forces will consist of women by 2015.

At the meeting, Zimbabwe announced its intention of recruiting women to the armed forces to reach gender parity in the near future.

The Mozambican delegation to the meeting said that "everything was being done to increase women's participation in the armed forces."

The meeting was also attended by representatives from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia, and Swaziland.

• South Africa