Kigali 3 January 2018- Members of Parliament were on 2 January 2019 urged to increase their awareness campaigns across the country to ensure that citizens understand the role of gender equality in fast-tracking national development.

This was underlined during a three-days’ training organized for the legislators that aimed at helping the Members of Parliament to understand better how gender equality can be promoted in communities across the country in order to fast-track development and improve the welfare of Rwandans.

Speaking at the training, MIGEPROF Permanent Secretary Mrs. UMUTONI GATSINZI Nadine echoed that gender equality policy needs to be mainstreamed in all government programs, affirmative action to promote women, human capacity building to achieve have gender equality mainstreamed at all levels, and the males’ participation in tackling gender gaps.

The Permanent added that future efforts will focus on educating citizens about gender equality will require serious involvement of men because their role remains important in achieving a better understanding of this issues.

“We have seen that it creates conflicts when you empower women without engaging men in the process”-said Mrs. Umutoni Gatsinzi Nadine

According to Donah Kamashazi, a gender expert who facilitated the training, there is need for targeted efforts to address the dominant poor mindset towards gender equality. She further added that gender equality needs to be explained in a way that women don’t feel as if they are victims of men’s oppression while the latter also don’t have to see themselves as a sort of perpetrators.

“We need to give real information. We shouldn’t blame men or women for already established social construction […] We need to teach both men and women that with gender equality, no one loses; we all profit”. –added Mrs. Kamashazi

Most MPs at the training agreed that efforts need to be made to educate Rwandans about the benefits of gender equality, starting from the family level.

Honorable Nyirabega Euthalie said: ‘Social transformation begins with behavior change. Gender equality cannot be achieved nor understood if there’s no mindset change. We need to start raising awareness at household level so that men and women are given equal opportunities.”

A national policy on gender equality adopted in 2010 has sought to uproot all gender based disparities in society. Since its adoption, Rwanda has been praised to be amongst countries that respect gender equality and promote women.

The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index, 2018 Version has ranked Rwanda as 6^th worldwide and 1^st in Africa in fixing the Gender gap. In 2017, Rwanda was ranked 4^th.