More than 400 lawyers in Rwanda gathered this week to discuss a solidarity fund that could assist new mothers on their maternity leave. This is because they are paid on a case by case basis, and earn nothing when they give birth and take a break.

The current labor law stipulates a 14-week maternity leave and seven-day paternity leave, but this doesn’t apply to lawyers who don’t have fixed contracts. Its absence, however, doesn’t mean the need for a paid parental leave is not valid.

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These legal practitioners, who are already benefiting from a health insurance scheme by the Rwanda Bar Association (RBA), were hoping to start a solidarity fund that would cater for parental leave benefits. On a surprising note, however, the president of RBA said that if each woman lawyer contributed every month, they could raise enough money to support the scheme. But why only the women? Because they are the only ones giving birth? It would be unfortunate to see it like this.

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Parental leave benefits are everyone’s responsibility. Taking an example from the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB), women don’t contribute more than men just because at some point they will give birth. It is impressive that RBA already had a health insurance policy, so the system is already there, what remains is the willingness from the management to allocate funds to the compulsory maternity leave fund.

Birth is not just for the couple that received a new baby. It benefits everyone in the long run, and we have an obligation to support new parents in all possible ways. And this should not just be in RBA, but in other trades too, where the legal stipulations do not necessarily apply.