A total of 30 women from across the country will today be recognised for working hard to empower themselves.

The women drawn from all the 30 districts, will be recognised during the national celebrations to mark International Rural Women’s Day in Gatebe Sector, Burera District, Northern Province.

The Day will be marked under the theme; ‘Let’s support each other in the journey of self-reliance.’

Christine Tuyisenge, the Executive Secretary National Women Council, told The New Times that 10 women will also be selected from each sector to be supported with start-up capital through Kuremera programme.

There are 416 sectors countrywide.

"We are starting a pilot programme "Inshuti mu Kwigira” to mobilise funds from women friends to support vulnerable women as we mark the day,” Tuyisenge said.

Statistics from the National Women Council show that 47 per cent of rural women live in  abject poverty and are not empowered enough to make decisions regarding the economic status of their families.

 "With the help of different stakeholders like districts and civil society organisations, we were able to select best performing women from each district and they will be awarded for their work. This aims at inspiring more women to actively participate in different development initiatives,” Tuyisenge added.

On this Day, women are called upon to contribute toward finding solutions to various challenges affecting the family and community, including human trafficking, gender-based violence, and advocating for a broader approach to economic development.

The international Rural Women’s Day was launched by several international NGOs during the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995.