PHOTOS: Rwandan lawmaker awarded for women progress, gender equality

Rwandan lawmaker Fatuma Ndangiza has attributed an award she received in recognition of her commitment to gender equality and women's advancement to Rwanda’s achievements in this regard, and its endeavour to further women's empowerment. The development came before the celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, under the theme “Invest in women: Accelerate progress”. Ndangiza, a Rwandan member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), made the observation while speaking to The New Times about such a recognition and its implications. The award was given by Africa for Africa Women Conference – an NGO focused on women's empowerment, intensifying their leadership development, coaching and mentorship – in partnership with the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and TNMIA (Training Network Management Institute in Africa) – the training arm of Egypt’s Ministry of Planning and Economic Development. The awarding ceremony took place on March 5, in Cairo, Egypt, after the fifth African Women Leadership Summit held under the theme “Collective leadership voice towards an inclusive, equitable and sustainable Africa.” Ndangiza said she got the award “in recognition for her outstanding performance towards gender equality and women's advancement.” For her, such an award is like valuing Rwanda’s journey to promote women's advancement and gender equality. “This award is for Rwanda, it is for the recognition of Rwanda and the progress it has made in women's advancement and gender equality principle,” she said. “So far, Rwanda is leading in decision-making positions, [including] women representation in parliament with 61 per cent [of lawmakers being women],” she said, adding that women's representation in the cabinet in Rwanda is also commendable, and the government also put in place mechanisms to support rural women. Gender equality, she said, is upheld in Rwanda’s legislation, starting from its constitution, and the country has specialised entities such as the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) to that end. She said that she was lucky to work for the ministry in charge of women's empowerment from its inception in 1995 to 2002 such that she participated in various relevant initiatives, such as reforms of laws that were a hindrance to women's progress. It was then called the Ministry of Family and Women Promotion and later changed name until its current appellation – the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion. She served the ministry in various capacities, including being the director in charge of women's development affairs, and the personal assistant to two ministers [in different periods]. She cited the revision of inheritance law that favoured males and excluded females from the right to inherit property such as land from their parents (for the case of daughters), or husbands (for the case of wives). But now—after the law was revised—women have equal inheritance rights as men. “As the country offered us an opportunity to serve it under various responsibilities, it makes us visible, but I can say it is a credit to Rwanda’s leadership,” she said. She said that the award was in recognition of gender equality and women empowerment achievements during her work at the ministry and in the advancement of such a cause in the region in general. “At EALA level, we started EALA Women’s Caucus, whose objective is to champion gender equality and women empowerment within EALA and East African Community so that we strive to ensure that gender equality principle is respected in the laws we enact, policies that our countries establish, and various programmes, and women from the East African Community benefit from opportunities therein,” she said. Ndangiza is the Secretary General of the EALA Women’s Caucus, which she said has so far made some achievements, especially in terms of advocacy, enactment of laws promoting gender equality, and motions that remind the EAC Council of Ministers that gender equality principle must be observed, as well as encouraging women to do business and addressing cross-border trade challenges affecting women.

News

PHOTOS: Rwandan lawmaker awarded for women progress, gender equality