First Lady Jeannette Kagame has reiterated the need to invest in women and youth if communities are to realize inclusive socio-economic transformation.

While speaking at the Global First Ladies Alliance event themed "The Future of Women: Defining Leadership for a New Era”, Mrs Kagame said that the quest for better leaders of the next generation will strongly rely on inclusive attitude towards women and young people—whom history has rendered "weak links” in any given society. 

The event was held at the margins of United Nations General Assembly, in New York, USA.

"As a woman and a mother, I humbly believe that a truly healthy society is judged by the way it treats all its citizens, including those who are the most vulnerable in times of crises: women and children,” First Lady said.

She added that, "regardless of their socio-economic, religious or racial background, we owe it to our future generations to not only deconstruct those gender norms, but also, further invest in the holistic well being of our youth, for the self-actualization of all members of our communities.”

Borrowing Rwanda’s history and socio-economic transformation journey—after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and following adverse effects—as an example, the First Lady said that she strongly believes that inclusive attitude towards women is a natural process that they deserve, as women, as custodians of respective cultures, "if we are to successfully raise the next generations of leaders of this world.”

For Rwanda, overcoming those darkest times in our history required us to tap into our ‘soft’ powers to help rebuild the social fabric of our society, she noted.

"From our continued commitment towards true gender equality at all levels of society, Mrs Kagame says, "to ensuring our youth received the best care possible that can be provided by a father or mother figure, we called on all faith and secular segments of our society to play their part for the rebuilding of our nation, to allow them to grow into the leaders our nation needs, to fully thrive in this global village. Indeed, we owe it to our little ones to be showered with this kind of love and we owe it to our societies, so they can move towards more humanity, peace and unity.”

The event was attended by a number of First Ladies, as well as renowned gender activists.

The Global First Ladies Alliance draws upon over ten years of in-depth experience working with First Ladies, elected officials, and their offices around the world to assist in setting policy priorities and agendas, organizing internal and external facing events, identifying strategic partners, generating and communicating positive impact, and developing lasting legacies.