Be time conscious, women leaders told

The minister of gender and family promotion Jeanne D΄Arc Mujawariya has urged women leaders in the country to be time conscious in order to play a significant role in the country’s development. She was speaking on Thursday at the official opening of one-day workshop on the role of women in the fight against genocide ideology at Centre St Francois d΄Assisse. “If we as mothers don’t count time, you will be taken as unserious and this will reflect to the society. You’re here to be equipped to fight the genocide ideology but when you do not count time your dreams will be shattered,” she said. The minister’s remarks were prompted by the turn up time of women participants at the meeting as most of them arrived late, derailing the meeting that was supposed to start at 9 00am for about two hours. Mujawamariya decried genocide ideology among sections of women, saying if women were determined to fight it; this phenomenon will become history in this country. “If we don’t fight back to the evil ideology it will carry on to oppress us, it’s the women responsible to shape the future of our country,” the minister stressed. Oda Gasinzigwa, the head of National Council of Women also challenged women to fight genocide ideology that is still rampant in schools and families. She observed that owing to the percentage of women in Rwanda, (52 percent of the Rwandan population), it would be easier for them to fight the ideology if they are all equipped with positive thinking. “Women have influence on lives of their children and their husbands. That’s why we organized this meeting because we believe they can use their God given influence to change our society by disseminating positive information to people under their influence,” Gasizigwa noted. She also added that women form the majority in education sector adding that if they make use of their natural-born convincing language, the rate of the ideology would be tremendously checked. At the end of the one-day workshop, every woman in their positions will design a programme on how they would implement the anti-genocide campaign, which will be supported by the women council and other government organs. Ends