Saturday 4th February, Rwandan Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E Immaculee Uwanyiligira addressed a group of more than 300 women at the Soroptimist International-Netherlands annual meeting in Utrecht.
“Empowerment of Women and Girls in the Rwandan Society; their education and personal leadership.”
It is my pleasure to be among you today to share more about the feminine spirit that is alive in Rwanda today. I trust that the Rwandan story will inspire you to join us on our journey toward further empowering our women and girls.
I still have fond memories of my visit to one of the Soroptimist’s chapters in Assen, where I received a generous contribution from you to Les Hirondelles secondary school located in Eastern Rwanda (Kibungo). Let me take this opportunity to recognize and appreciate your support to our nation’s youth. It is a joy to recognize some of the familiar faces of our sisters from that Assen meeting, like Ineke Konig, who together with Betty Meyboom, Luud Roos and may other sisters were very hospitable during my visit.
It is encouraging to note that Soroptimist International is committed to: “a world where women and girls together achieve their individual and collective potential, realize aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong and peaceful communities.” This resonates strongly with Rwanda’s vision and approach, to encouraging and expecting women to participate in developing and enriching Rwandan society.
In just 18 years, our country has risen above the ashes of a horrific genocide and is now a new Rwanda, a true wonder! Rwanda has undergone a remarkable transformation process, from a time when death and despair filled the air to a new dawn where hope, progress and prosperity abound and new ideas flourish. Rest assured that girls and women are very much at the heart of this success story.
Let me quote, if I may, our very own First Lady, H.E. Mrs. Jeannette Kagame who has blazed a trail for Rwandan women and girls. In a 2010 interview with Impact Magazine she attributed “The prominent role of women in Rwanda today to conscious decisions made by the post-genocide leadership, which understood the importance of women and supported women's active participation in all aspects of the nation's development”.
Indeed Rwanda has leaders who believe in women’s abilities and creative energies. This is evident through the political will and the establishment of various laws, legal instruments and initiatives over the past few years. The Government of Rwanda (GoR) has identified women as key agents in achieving peace, conflict resolution and sustainable development.
The 2003 revision of the National Constitution explicitly requires a 30% gender quota for decision makers in Parliament, and supports principles of adherence to international instruments of gender equality such as CEDAW, the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights, and respects the recommendations of the Beijing Platform. The 30% is believed to be the tipping point which leads to transformative change.
Under the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Rwanda has achieved a number of results. The aim of the 1325 UN Resolution is to involve women in all decision making organs in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts, to protect young girls and women from the consequences of armed conflicts including Gender Based Violence and the need to prosecute criminals. Rwanda is one of only 23 countries in the world to have fully domesticated and implemented Resolution 1325.
Besides, the GoR has established different institutions and mechanisms including: a dedicated Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, a Gender Monitoring Office, the National Women’s Council, Anti Gender Based Violence Committees from grass roots to national level, Community Policing Committees, and a Gender Desk within the Rwanda National Police (RNP) known as Isange One-Stop Center.
Within the Rwanda National Police, female officers’ representation in decision-making levels is 16% of the total force including: 1 Director, 2 Heads of divisions, and 3 station commanders. In the senior ranks, there is 1 female officer, 8 Chief Inspectors, 10 Inspectors and 64 Assistant Inspectors. While modest, these figures are particularly significant for a formerly male dominated domain, and are all the more significant due to the crucial role played by the police in law enforcement and maintaining law and order. The role of women in peace and security has not stopped at home; 400 female officers have received redeployment trainings and most are already deployed in UN missions. In 2010, Rwanda deployed a 92-strong, all female contingent of Gender Based Violence trainers to Darfur.
With 56% female representation in Parliament, Rwanda has far exceeded the 30% constitutional requirement and has now become the first country in the world with the highest female representation in decision-making institutions. Across the board, gender representation statistics are impressive: 35% in the Senate, 38% in the Cabinet, 40% State Ministers, 50% Permanent Secretaries, 42% Judges in the Supreme Court, 70% Judges in the High Court, 43% District Councilors, 30% Judiciary Police, and 60% Executive Secretaries of National Commissions. Rwanda has been referred to, and rightly so, as the “best case” developing country in the work done toward women’s empowerment and peace building.
A Gender Responsive Budgeting initiative was put in place by the Government to ensure budget allocations for government interventions are gender sensitive. To date, every public institution is required to present a Gender Budget Statement.
Fee-free primary education introduced in 2003 impacted significantly on enrolment rates especially for girls. Primary level completion rate was 71% by end of 2009. The fee-free 9-year basic education program has significantly helped increase transition from primary to secondary and therefore completion rates. To reinforce these government efforts, there are rewarding campaigns conducted each year by NGOs (Imbuto Foundation for example) to encourage girls to excel, keeping in mind that not only do we want girls to merely attend school but to perform well.
We believe that education is not enough, the approach must be holistic; we must also look at health, economic empowerment and indeed have made good progress in these areas. Values such as dignity, self-respect, hard work, integrity are very much underscored. These values are shared through forums, debates on various forums and at home. This is the true worth of what it means to be Rwandan today.
With regard to economic empowerment, much needs to be done in the private sector as not equally impressive progress has been registered in this traditionally male dominated domain. That said, today, 29% of all small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are owned by women. 43% of all businesses in Kigali are owned by women, while country-wide that figure drops to 20%.
What we are doing in Rwanda is creating the conditions that make empowerment conducive. We want to provide girls with a good start and equal opportunity, from there on they can spread their wings and touch the sky.
In closing, I would like to leave you with a reflection. Just this past week, on 1 February, Rwanda celebrated Heroes Day. This was a time to pay special tribute to the brave Rwandans who made our struggle for liberation and peace a reality; sadly many had to pay the price with their lives. A quote from Maya Angelou comes to mind and it says: “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate
our heroes and she-roes!”. May we never forget the people who struggle and strive for high ideals and for the betterment of our society and may we remember both men and women in equal measure.
From June 17 – 23 June 2012 the Netherlands-African Business Council is organizing a trade mission in close collaboration with Rwanda Chamber Foundation, Dutch Embassies in Rwanda and Uganda and the Embassy of Rwanda in the Netherlands.
