MONROVIA - President Paul Kagame was yesterday awarded "The Distinction of the Grand Cordon in the Most Venerable Order of the Knighthood of Pioneers” by Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

The highest honour in Liberian was given to Kagame in recognition of his exemplary leadership and exceptional contribution to the promotion of women’s rights.

The President had travelled to Monrovia on the invitation of Johnson-Sirleaf to attend the International Colloquium on Women which coincides with the International Women’s Day.

Over 1000 participants from all over the world are attending the meeting.

This is the second gender award the President has received in the last two years.

In 2007, Kagame won the African Gender Award in Dakar Senegal for his contribution in empowering women in Rwanda
Every two years, Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), through its Pan-African Centre for Gender, Peace and Development based in Dakar, Senegal, gives the African Gender Award to an African leader or group in government who demonstrate outstanding achievement in furthering gender mainstreaming in the economic and political spheres, as well as addressing social and cultural barriers that impede the involvement and advancement of women in national affairs.

That same year, President Johnson-Sirleaf was in Rwanda for the first official state visit and to attend the International Women Parliamentarians Conference.

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