Gender Minister remarks on Mother’s Day

KIGALI - The Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Jeanne d`Arc Mujawamariya, yesterday said that although there are no official celebrations in the country to mark Mother’s Day, it is highly recognized. “We have not organised official celebrations to mark the day, but we highly respect it. The cerebrations are combined with those of The African Child’s Day,” Mujawamariya said. The African Child’s Day is celebrated on June 15. She said that the day should hold a lot of meaning for Rwandans and that people should understand and perceive them better. “It is not only women who should understand the importance of the day. Children, fathers, young and old should respect and get a clear meaning of this day in respect to their country.” The Minister added that as the world celebrates the day; the people of Rwanda have a big task ahead of them in rebuilding and developing Rwanda given the hard time the country has experienced. “As the world celebrates the day, Rwandan`s should realise the task head of us in nursing the wounds that were inflicted by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” she said. Explaining further, she said that as the people of Rwanda, we should love our country and fight hard not to let such life experiences come again. She briefly lamented on how the country was set back and imposed life time scars to some people’s lives. The day comes at a time when the country still holds certain activities to mark the15th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Although celebrated at different intervals in different countries, International Mother`s Day is annual. Mother’s Week which commenced on May 4 ends today. Ends