First Lady Jeannette Kagame has reiterated the importance of gender equality, saying it does not mean uplifting just one gender, but the whole community.
She made the remarks on Wednesday, November 10, while speaking virtually at the YouLead Africa Summit 2021, organised by the continent’s flagship youth leadership programme working to unlock youth leadership potential by identifying, recognizing, connecting and fostering cooperation among influential young leaders and their initiatives.
The event has been taking place since early this week in Ausha, Tanzania, attracting young people as well as leaders from various African countries.
"Gender equality isn’t about uplifting one gender. It is about uplifting the community, by empowering every individual, that can contribute to our society’s progress, well-being, and stability,” she told her audience, which she addressed virtually.
"Gender equality is the common appreciation of the unseen, yet essential, efforts of invisible women, to craft the first notion of "home”, most of us have ever known. Achieving gender equality at last, is our means of giving back to those countless women, who have dedicated their lives, to ensuring we could all sit here, positioned to bear an impact on the future of our communities,” she added.
She noted that "perhaps” the greatest indicator of how much further the fight for gender inequality must take is the fact that discussions on female equality are still being held, and justifiably so.
"To this day, the biological differences between the sexes, are frequently mischaracterized, as a justification for gender inequality. They are not. Instead, they are an indicator of how complementary our respective offerings can be,” she said.
She cited to her audience, the role that women have played in the post-genocide Rwanda, where they have provided unconditional love for their children, something that needed to be capitalized on, to engage an entire nation in the task of communal healing.
"The gift that womanhood offers the community, is the antithesis of enmity and death: love and life. For a continent that has been scarred by centuries of oppression, but bears the resilience and drive to overcome, these are the energies that must be tapped into,” she said.
On the same day, the summit was addressed by Kassim Majaliwa, Tanzania’s Prime Minister, who, in his speech said there is a huge relationship between gender equality and women in economic advancement in the African context.
"Growth indicators and trend lines are certain to indicate improvements in the quality of life and the African economy,” he said.
"As Africans, we should heed to support women and youth in economic governance, and in doing so we build a better Africa,” he added.
Peter Mathuki, the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC) who was also among the speakers made a case for youth participation in the EAC activities.
He promised to look at how best to mainstream youth participation in EAC activities.
"We cannot ignore the youth yet they form the largest part of Africa’s population. The future is safe when we invest in the youth,” he said.
Among other speakers, Malual Bol Kiir is a South Sudanese Peace and Human rights activist; He Co-founded the African Youth Action Network called for efforts for healing towards youth in conflict hit areas.
"We cannot continue to consider youth in conflict areas as just a statistic. These young people carry potential critical to the healing processes in areas affected by conflict as well as being part of sustaining peace when it is attained,” he said.