Source: AllAfrica

President Kagame has told Rwandan women that the government is committed to continue promoting gender equality, saying that there is a need for women to know that they have the right and capacity to contribute towards national development.

Kagame was addressing thousands of women representing different women groups at Remera indoor stadium in Gasabo District at a MeetThePresident session on Friday. He remarked that women and girls' emancipation and fighting against poverty requires an inclusive approach where no group of people is segregated.

"No country in the world can achieve sustainable development without promoting gender equality and it's in this regards that I want to assure you as women that our government will continue to put in place mechanisms and strategies aimed at improving gender equality in Rwanda, because women and girls are a key pillar in our national socio-economic transformation," Kagame said.

He added that fighting poverty should begin with empowering women since a poor woman can always have a negative impact not only on her family but the country at large.

The President said that it's imperative f or Rwandans to always have debates on how they can improve economic and social welfare irrespective of gender, saying that women's role in the national development does not give dignity to them only but to Rwandans in general.

"The major goal of the government and the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in particular is to have inclusive policies which give equal opportunities to all," the President said.

However, the Head of State also pointed out that women cannot achieve a lot on their own, urging them to always collaborate with men.

The women, most of whom who were also representing others through the National Women's Council (NWC), commended the President for his visionary leadership which has managed to reunite Rwandans just 19 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis.

However, they also seized the opportunity to highlight some of the challenges they face. Alice Rugenera, the vice-president of Pro-Femme Twese Hamwe, an umbrella organization for women NGOs in Rwanda, for her part called upon the government to revise the labor law regarding maternity leave, saying that currently a woman is given a maternity leave of only one month and a half which women deem too short to fully recover. She called for the establishment of a maternity fund which would compensate women who want more days of maternity leave. The fund was mooted after the new labor code reduced maternity leave from 12 weeks to six.

Donatha Kayitesi, from Musheri sector in Nyagatare, in turn highlighted the problem of lack of clean water in her sector, saying that currently the area residents fetch water from a nearby dam which they share with cattle keepers. And Prisca Uwamahoro from Ruhango noted that among the challenges still faced by women in the Southern Province is the limited access to credit facilities.

Responding to their requests, Kagame promised them that the government will continue to address the issues and pledged to further promote an inclusive approache to overcoming the country's existing challenges.

 

• Rwanda