Despite various initiatives to empower women in all aspects of life, many are still denied their rights to property, especially inherited from parents and husbands. Most disturbing, however, is that some women are not being assertive enough to claim their rights in a society that still habours some archaic cultural norms against women.

The New Times’ Frank Kanyesigye spoke to Rose Rwabuhihi, the Chief Gender Monitor at the Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) on the progress of women empowerment and brings you the excerptsWhat is the mandate of GMO?Gender Monitoring Office (GMO) is a government body set up by the 2005 amended constitution. It is responsible for monitoring the implementation of gender equality in all sectors across the country. The body is committed to ensuring that the principle of gender equity is upheld across the country and we are delighted to say that our country is proving to the world that gender equality is applicable and sustainable.There is a lot going on if you look at several government laws. Much effort is being put in place to ensure gender parity. For example the land reform law which gives equal land rights to men and women. In all sectors of the economy, women have the same voice as men. However, we need to ensure that gender equality is implemented at all levels.How does GMO do its work? We monitor gender issues through application of Participatory Gender Assessment (PGA) in institutions to determine whether gender equality is implemented. We monitor if women and men have equal opportunities in accessing finance, education and other incentives.We also carry out studies to establish whether gender equality is applicable in all sectors of the economy, where there is a gap we put in place mechanisms to fill it.What challenges do you face in enforcing gender equality?There is a challenge of inadequate knowledge and skills. Some of the experts in monitoring gender equality have little knowledge on how to approach gender situations and come up with proper analysis. Planning for gender equality needs desegregated data which might be unavailable during the process of implementation. We are trying to discuss with those who have data regarding gender equality to enable us streamline our approaches.What are your expectations from the 64 per cent women representation in Parliament?There is nothing specific we are expecting from women parliamentarians despite their numerical strength. Both men and women represent Rwandans. I think the big number of women in parliament will play a key role in implementing gender issues. We want them to be gender sensitive to all issues that are tabled in Parliament. We believe women will be much more sensitive than their male counterparts in the legislative assembly when it comes to laws that may have discriminatory clauses. On the other hand, they both have equal obligations when passing laws.How can the GMO leverage women majority in Parliament to expand opportunities for woman in the private sector?It is true women have not engaged themselves in private sector development and there is a big gap here. For instance the level of investment in the private sector by women is very low.  The issues of cultural background and the capacity to look for investment resources have hindered the growth of women numbers in the private sector compared to public sector.As you know, women have just been given rights to inherit land. Land is an important asset that can be used as security for accessing loans from commercial banks. Since women had no land or any other property, they were not in position to invest. As the GMO, our mandate is to do advocacy to increase the number of women in the private sector. We shall also partner with stakeholders to address challenges affecting the position of women in the private sector.What is your take on the draft law to reduce maternity leave days for working mothers?We have received complaints from the civil society asking for that law to be looked at. However, the discussion is still on to make sure that everybody understands the implications of the law and the benefits of changing that law. Any change has to be substantiated. It has to be justified how the change will benefit the nation not the individuals. We are in discussions and very soon, we are going to come up with resolutions and respond to those who have concerns. If there is something that harms the principle of gender equality in this law, it will be addressed.What is your take on the status of women in the country?I think Rwandan women are empowered because the law is clear—women and men have equal rights. Most of the laws and policies are trying to align with that principle. The challenge is that a lot needs to be done especially in the private sector. If we want women to be fully empowered, we have to push young girls to go for careers that were once dominated by men. In the field of diplomacy for example, women are scarce despite the fact that women participation inside the country is strong. We want to expose women to that level. There is also the challenge of poverty among women. As I said earlier, the number of women in the private sector is still very low meaning that women are not empowered in the sector.What are the priorities of GMO for the year 2014?We are planning for the 2014-2015 Financial Year. We are discussing with the ministry of gender, National Council of Women and the National Child Commission and women parliamentarians to come up with ideas and initiatives for the year. On our side, we have identified sensitive areas where emphasis should be put. Such areas include; security, finance and health.  We are compiling viable data on how gender equity can be attained in these areas. We also plan to engage various sectorss to see what methodology will be applied to come up with viable data of gender equality. The same thing is going to happen in all the districts to find out how gender equality stands in the districts and this will help us address some of the challenges that may be hindering the implementation of gender equality in the country. This will put us in a position to provide best practices to others who may want to learn about Rwanda’s gender initiatives.How are you addressing Gender Based Violence?In line with the law that established the GMO, we are supposed to receive cases of GBV and enable the victims to get the services they need. Our mandate is to assess how services are provided to the victims and advocate for issues we have noticed during monitoring and assessment. When victims of GBV come to us, we listen to them, offer  advice and counselling, before referring them to the right institutions. After that, we do a follow-up to make sure they get the services they need. Any achievements in implementing your mandate?One of the major achievements is that the institution  has helped gender equality take root. Implementing gender equality is not easy. Imagine auditing institutions to find out if they are sensitive to gender issues and providing results. It’s really an achievement we can be proud of. Several institutions have been given good advice that has helped them plan for gender equality and understand how gender can be reflected in what they do. Another important aspect is how we support districts and ministries to execute gender-sensitive budget. We have produced several indicators to service providers to enable them plan for gender equality.What are the major challenges Rwandan women face today?Shifting the mindset on gender equality is something that takes time. We appreciate the fact that our government has a strong political will to empower women, but there is a challenge of culture that impedes women empowerment. We still have a long way to go to make people understand the principle of gender equality. For example, on the issue of land rights, we have achieved the full implementation of gender equality but women still believe that they do not have equal rights to land. It’s not easy to make men understand that they have 100 per cent equal rights with women when it comes to land issues, even when both have title deeds.There are a lot of complaints from women who have been denied access to land inherited from their husbands and parents. Women also face the challenge of lack of self esteem. We have realised that some women think that their husbands have the right to beat them for not cooking food.Anything you may want to add?I want to stress that people have to understand that gender equality is important to everyone because it is about transforming lives, homes and the government. We want to see girls in schools like boys. We have seen cases where parents have removed a girl child from school in favour of a boy. We do not want this mindset anymore, because both girls and boys have equal rights and capacity to provide for the family and the nation. Girls who have been deprived of their rights are engaged in prostitution. Parents should know that if girls are denied their rights, they will end up doing what their parents do not want them to do.Providing support to girls and women is paramount to fight poverty in the family and in the country.