The First Lady this past weekend attended a prayer breakfast that brought together young leaders in different sectors of the country, and it mainly focused on instilling good values in leadership among congregants present.

Organised by Rwanda Leaders Fellowship (RLF), the fellowship themed "Young Leaders and Parenting Today” brought together young people in government, the private sector, and civil society to discuss how to navigate parenting amidst other responsibilities they are charged with.

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In her speech, the First Lady’s rallying call was for both parents, especially men, to participate equally in the upbringing of children and to shun the misguided and patriarchal biases that the upbringing of a child is a duty of their mother.

We are happy to have a country that has made deliberate effort, both in policy and practice, to uplift the woman, including the entrenched article in the Constitution that compels all entities – public and private – to have at least 30 per cent women in their decision making organs.

While this has not been fully implemented, there has been significant progress. We have more women in boardrooms, case in point being the banking sector, where majority of the CEOs of the commercial banks operating in the country are women.

There is however a long way to go in many aspects. The fact that some male parents – including those that have gone to school – still think that the upbringing of children should be left to women, is a major problem in itself.

This not only shackles the women in terms of spending more time taking care of children and doing other household chores and thereby limiting their potential in as far as professional growth is concerned, but also denies the child an opportunity of getting the necessary care from both parents.

As stated by a local CSO that strives to bring men on board in the fight against gender inequality, to dismantle these oppressive systems of patriarchy, it is essential to confront the underlying causes of gender inequality.

This can be done through redefining masculinity and promoting positive attributes like empathy, emotional intelligence, and equal partnership.