This October saw the world celebrate, for the 10th time, the International Day of the Girl (IDG), to address unique challenges girls face and promote their empowerment and the fulfilment of their human rights.
In the last decade alone, Rwanda has registered significant achievements in promoting gender equality and empowerment of women.
Milestones range from enabling policies, legal and institutional framework, enhanced socio-economic and political participation, to setting a global pace for equality between men and women.
According to Diane Iradukunda, a Child Protection Specialist, there have been gains in girl empowerment such as; equitable education for girls, especially vocational training programmes among others.
"Girls have attained and surpassed gender parity in primary education, and they are in loan and saving groups which offer them a first step towards financial inclusion and economic independence,” Iradukunda said.
She added that girls have attended vocational training programmes to equip them with skills expected to help them create jobs and become self-reliant. They also have access to sports and physical activity facilities, and they are in decision making positions and also in businesses.
Jean Bosco Rudasingwa, the National Project Coordinator of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment Programme (GEWEP), echoes that improvement of access to education for girls is an outstanding achievement.
"Female access to education was improved and this resulted to; increased female participation in the labour force, increased female representation in decision making spaces and in the private sector, improved GBV service delivery and related advocacy, and women’s access to finance,” he said.
Rudasingwa added that government support for gender equality, improved legal and policy framework, existence of comprehensive mentorship programmes and involving civil society and faith based organisations in awareness raising campaigns backed by girl empowerment.
He shares the idea with Ilaria Buscaglia, the Programme Manager at Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre (RWAMREC), who said that the major wins of girl empowerment in Rwanda are related to different areas, but mainly more access to education than in the past.
"Given the higher level of education, girls have chances to develop their career, delay marriage, have fewer children and participate in economic empowerment related activities,” she said.
Buscaglia added that another important gain is the easy accessibility to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) facilities compared to the past.
"Although there are still barriers on SRHR, at least there has been advancement with respect to formal access to information, including contraceptives,” she noted.
Buscaglia also said that other gains are related to a girl’s right to inheritance and increasing attention to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) - and different ways to prevent and fight it.
She indicated that the government has created conducive laws and policies to support girls.
"The newly revised gender policy goes even beyond promoting a gender sensitive environment, it actually goes as far as pushing the transformation of social gender norms, by even engaging men and boys in this, in order to promote women and girl empowerment,” she said.
However, Buscaglia noted that there are aspects that should be implemented in order to bring about more achievements of women and girl empowerment.
"Two are the aspects that I think should now be emphasised and the emphasis on the transformation of social and gender norms, in order to keep pushing even further some of the gains realised. To transform social and gender norms, there is a need to engage men and boys in the process,” she said.
Buscaglia noted that there is a need to keep pushing for a more progressive understanding and also service delivery when it comes to SRHR.
"The National Strategic Plan on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) states that access to contraceptives should include unmarried adolescents. And we know how bad the consequences of early pregnancies are for girls.
"However, often there are real barriers to this, due to a belief that this would go against religion and culture, and that it means promoting ‘prostitution’. Yet, the moralisation of SRHR only victimises vulnerable girls, so I strongly believe this should also be put on the agenda to increase girls’ empowerment,” she said.
Rudasingwa also highlighted what needs to be done to bring about more achievements in girl empowerment.
"Besides political will and good policies, there is a need to ensure an effective policy implementation at local level, where more gaps are still being noticed in most of the girl empowerment related components. Strengthening men’s participation in women empowerment programmes, by challenging power relations and negative gender norms,” he concluded.