Zambian first lady Maureen Mwanawasa has called on women in the country to change their attitudes about themselves if they are to develop and empower themselves.

The first lady was quoted by local newspaper Daily Mail on Monday as saying over the weekend that women should stop looking at themselves negatively because they were an asset to the country.

"My opinion is that unless a woman deals with that internal aspect of herself and sets a straight and positive path for herself, it will be difficult to attain anything worthwhile in life," she said.

She noted that women were strong species by nature and therefore should take the challenge of formulating big goals.

The first lady said self-analysis would trigger self-confidencewhich was a catalyst for high expectations.

"If your expectations and feelings are negative, the world willrespond to you based on what you expect of yourselves," she said.

Source: Xinhua