Involving men in the women empowerment programmes is an important factor in making further gains, the Minister for Gender and Family Promotion, Oda Gasinzigwa, has said.

Gasinzigwa was yesterday speaking about the progress of women empowerment in Rwanda during the national celebration of Women’s Day at Nduba Sector in Gasabo Distric.

She said, through collective effort, coupled with good governance, gender equality is possible.

"Men have become more open-minded and they now understand the benefits of women empowerment, not only to the family but to the community at large. This has helped to strengthen the fight against poverty and now we see women empowered in terms of investment and economic independence,” Gasinzigwa said.

The International Women’s Day was celebrated globally under the theme, "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality,” meant to encourage men and women to act for positive change.

The Nduba celebrations were characterised by women entrepreneurs showcasing their products.

Women were also sensitised about saving culture, with speakers citing the example of Igiceri SACCO that Nduba women used to save a few coins to accumulate more than Rwf28 million.

Achieving 2050 goals

Speaking at the event, Clara Anyangwe, the country representative of UN Women, observed that Rwanda was on course to achieve the 2050 Sustainable Development Goals as a step up for gender equality.

"Financial inclusion is possible even by using simple grassroots methods and innovation like the Igiceri saving scheme that the Nduba women embraced to empower themselves. Women and girls are critical to finding sustainable solutions to the challenges of poverty and inequality,” Anyangwe added.

In Rwanda, the International Women’s Day was marked under the theme, "Step it up for Gender Equality, Strive for Women Empowerment.”

Meanwhile, Tigo Rwanda walked the talk by donating Rwf50 million to the National Women Council as start-up capital for 300 women.

While handing over the dummy cheque, Tongai Maramba, chief executive of Tigo Rwanda, said the telecom company’s commitment is to increase women using mobile financial services from 39 per cent to 45 per cent by 2020.

"We understand and value the role that women play in guaranteeing their families’ financial management. This fund will bring us a step closer to delivering on this promise,” Maramba said.

"This project is linked to two key principles and these are outreach and sustainability. We see those as critical to developing sound financial inclusion capable of serving rural communities and enabling women to improve their economic activities and livelihoods.”

The celebrations were concluded by women in Gasabo District making commitments to strengthen the fight against gender based violence and teenage pregnancies, maintain and promote sanitation in families, among others.

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