Some lawmakers have proposed that a new father should be granted a paternity leave of at least four to eight weeks.

They made the proposal during a Chamber of Deputies’ session to approve the draft law establishing the general statute governing public servants on Monday, June 15, 2020.

The session was due to resume at Parliament on Wednesday, June 17 for voting.

Both the bill under review and the law regulating labour in Rwanda, which was enacted in 2018, do not provide for paternity leave.

But, some employers give a four-day-leave to a male employee with a new baby.

Under the current legal framework, a female employee is entitled to a paid maternity leave of 12 consecutive weeks or three months (including two weeks they may take before delivery).

Among reasons parliamentarians are putting forward for such a leave, include the fact that fathers also need it because they take care of the mothers (their wives who have given birth), and the newborn needs the care of both the mother and the father.

MP Eugene Barikana said that paternity leave has been thought about for long, but progress to establish it has been slow.

"A father also needs leave, no matter how long it is, when their wife has given birth, especially because the legislation intends to support the family, and the role of the father is very important after birth,” he said.

"In a bid to build, strengthen a family, a father should get leave. A father needs to get rest in order to be mentally fine,” he observed.  

MP John Ruku-Rwabyoma said that a baby should be with both parents in line with wellness, and bonding.

"A father needs at least one to two months of paternity leave. Fathers need enough time to take care of the mother and bond with the babies

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a statutory right to paid paternity leave is found in 70 countries, underlining the trend of greater involvement of fathers around childbirth.

But, the UN labour agency says that only 5 countries, all among the Developed Economies (Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia) provide paternity leave of more than two weeks.