Women are key players in wellbeing of their families and community: Ethiopian First Lady

Ethiopia’s First Lady Romane Tesfaye has encouraged women to be at the heart of their families’ well-being by championing peace and reconciliation. Mrs Tesfaye said women give life (through birth) and so they are the very people who would be the first to understand the pain caused by conflicts, hence putting them in a strategic position of being the pioneers of peace and stability in their communities. The Ethiopian First Lady said this, yesterday, while visiting the Women to Women Opportunity Centre in Kayonza District, Eastern Province. The centre hosts women survivors of the 1994 Genocide agaisnt Tutsi, wives of Genocide convicts, as well as those who returned to Rwanda from exile. “Women, wherever we are, share the same values; we give life and give meaning to life. Since we give life, we need to be the first people to understand the weight of conflicts and do all we can to prevent it in our communities,” Mrs Tesfaye said. “It doesn’t matter who we are or where we come from. We can and must come together in bringing about peace.” Just like the mother organisation—Women for Women International—The Women for Women Centre in Kayonza supports the most marginalised women to earn and save money, improve health and well-being, influence decisions in their home and community, and connect them to networks for support. Dancing women at the Womens Opportunity Centre welcome the First Lady of Ethiopia, Roman Tesfaye, and government officials during their visit to the centre. The centre, established in June 2013 in honour of the former Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Aloisia Inyumba, utilises skills, knowledge, and resources, for not only women but for men as well who they are able to work with in creating sustainable change for themselves, their family, and community. To men, Mrs Tesfaye said “men and women, we must co-exist; in harmony, in love because we complement each other and all we do must reflect exactly that.” “What we need for peaceful families, homes and communities are men who understand women’s feelings, fear and pain,” she added. Mrs Tesfaye arrived in Kigali yesterday accompanying Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn for a three-day state visit. She hailed the Government’s efforts in empowering women, an act she pledged to emulate back home. “Back home, we do all these things trying to empower women. We also do art and encourage women to innovate many artistic things. We could share experiences; maybe you could come teach our women some of these things and some of our women would come here as well just to share knowledge and experiences,” she told the women artisans. Women at the centre showcase their basket weaving skills during the visit of Ethiopias First Lady Roman Tesfaye. Mrs Tesfaye was accompanied by the Minister for Gender and Family Promotion, Esperance Nyirasafari, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and East African Community Affairs, Rosemary Mbabazi; Sandrine Umutoni, director-general of Imbuto Foundation, among others. Premier Desalegn and First Lady Tesfaye were hosted to a state banquet by President Paul Kagame and First Lady Jeannette Kagame last night. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Women are key players in wellbeing of their families and community: Ethiopian First Lady