The Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion has announced a series of activities in schools and at the sector level this month to educate girls and women in general on preserving their dignity.

Speaking at a news conference in Kigali, yesterday, ahead of today’s International Women’s Day celebrations, Gender and Family Promotion minister Esperance Nyirasafari said the activities are aimed at further empowering women.

The national Women’s Day celebrations will be held in Shyira Sector in Nyabihu District and the First Lady, Mrs Jeannette Kagame, is expected to attend.

Nyirasafari recalled how a woman had no voice in society, family, with no chance to education, leadership, and property but noted that a lot has been achieved as far as gender empowerment is concerned.

Economically, Rwandan women equally benefit from their country’s development process like their male counterparts, they enjoy equal rights to property such as land, which has been instrumental in enhancing their productive capacities and improving their welfare.

Today, the Rwandan woman has been greatly empowered since the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. These are great milestones worth celebrating, the minister said.

Nyirasafari said the ministry had dedicated the month of March to educate women on a number of issues that are still affecting communities and need a woman’s role such as use of family planning methods, and sanitation.

"Women should embrace the use of different family planning methods so as to control birth rates and also to give birth to a number of children they are able to easily provide for in terms of basic needs and education,” Nyirasafari said.

"Many women today are producing more children than they can look after and this is why we continue seeing cases of malnutrition and street kids increasing every day.”

The minister urged women to ensure cleanliness in households which she said is the backbone of health.

"We also encourage women to know their rights as we engage them more on standing for leadership. They should benefit from pogrammes targeting women so as to get a voice in society and in other decision making positions,” Nyirasafari added.

Other planned activities include savings awareness campaigns, projects planning and financial literacy.

There will be a week to register gender-based violence cases that have not been given attention in different sectors across the country.

In addition, abandoned children will be registered to establish those without proper care.

Men challenged

As the country celebrates Women’s Day, Minister Nyirasafari encouraged men to continue their support and unity in the empowerment of a girl child and women as a whole, saying in so doing, they do not only empower a woman but also the nation at large.

International Women’s Day is devoted to the continued fight for gender parity and global celebration of the achievements of women in society.

The 2017 theme for International Women’s Day, March 8, focuses on "Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030.”

"The world of work is changing, with significant implications for women. On one hand, technological advances and globalisation bring unprecedented opportunities for those who can access them,” the UN Women says.

But against this backdrop, only 50 per cent of working age women are represented in the labour force globally, compared to 76 per cent of men, according to UN Women.

It notes that the majority of women are in the informal economy, subsidising care and domestic work, and concentrated in lower-paid, lower-skill occupations with little or no social protection.

The United Nations is calling upon all actors to step it up for gender equality by ensuring that the world of work works for all women.

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