The event was organized to celebrate efforts made by women in every sector of society including leadership, governments, civil society, private sector, entrepreneurs, trade unions, artists, academia and social influencers.
According to Ange Kalisa in charge of gender in the community of Rwandans living in Texas, the challenges that women face begin from their youthful innocence into adulthood and resilience becomes tender “But this is why we are here today to champion our cause and make our voices heard, we are here to take charge and lead! We want to be equal and have a say in our own lives. We are strong, we are smart, and we are talented.”
The celebration served as a platform to reflect on the contribution of women in social transformation and to discuss on how to push further urgent action and accountability while overcoming the challenges.
The event featured panel discussions for an engaging environment and expounded on various issues affecting the society, particularly women.
The panelists shared experiences on various topics including youth engagement through pandemic and beyond, the opportunities for women in science and technology, business among others.
Anysie Uwimana an expert in health care expounded on problems women face both at home and in their communities, these include oppression and submission in families, which lead to a dysfunctional family, judgement and criticism.
Uwimana called on audience to take action adding, “We have to speak up against oppression in our own homes; we have to discourage cultures that puts girls and women. We have to act against disparities in our home through actions and we have to have family meetings to address what is bothering family members through communication. Adding that women need to have openness and agree to seek a help through counseling, therapies.
Yvonne Umugwaneza, a licensed Masters Social Worker commented on growing cases of depressions among youth as a result of communication skills gap.
“Our children spend nine hours on social media, that’s where they learn communication. Number one, they lack interpersonal communication because they hardly talk to people they are always with their gadgets. Number two, they lack intercultural communication because they do not learn from their culture or at least the culture of their communities. They feel misunderstood but it’s actually that they are not equipped with the proper tools to understand the communication surrounding them.”
Drawing an example from her personal experience as someone who grew up in Belgium without the love of her country, Sandrine Maziyateke, the director of the Rwanda Community Abroad in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation called for parents to take their children to visit Rwanda, to learn the culture and discover so many wonderful things happening there. Adding this will definitely break the barrier of lack of identity.
“How are we engaging our youth to get to discover their identity? Their country of origin, “When they see their country and the opportunities around them they will love it.” She added that if children love social media, parents could use it “to engage them and get to know where they come from, to visit Rwanda.”
Sue Meeks, a business owner challenged women to discover their talents and embrace opportunities around them against all odds.
“Your journey is different from your mother’s, your sister’s, is different from your friends. You are on different stages; no one knows what is best for you except you. “Navigate bad advices to transcend into something positive. […] Look to your left, look to your right what relationships do you have that you can leverage what can you do now with what you’ve got even though it is so small”
Talking about gender based violence, Prof. Boatama Mosupyoe Associate Dean of Resource and Program Management at California State University Sacramento, raised concerns affecting women including sex trafficking where women are taken from one place to the other with an understanding that they are going for better opportunities but when they reach to those places they are subjected to sexual abuse.”
Because of language barriers, he added, they fail to seek legal help in the new country.
Prof. Boatama depicted Rwanda as good example of women empowerment across the world “when I teach my students and ask them which country has the most women in parliament […] they take me to Europe and I bring them back to Rwanda…”
Ambassador of Rwanda in the United States of America Mathilde Mukantabana said that Rwanda removed structural barriers that women used to face. She challenged the audience to take part in breaking social norms that are still one of the major challenges.
“In Rwanda, we have removed all barriers that women used to face. Women have been included in different sectors even in Government and economic empowerment. We only need to change one thing: is social norms. Kids learn on the laps of their parents, the way you treat women is the same way your sons will treat them.”
Amb. Mathilde reminded Rwandan diaspora to heed of the growing influence of diaspora groups across the world.
“We do not have to wait for someone to organize us when we are already organized, we should take charge and lead the way and also partner with others as we cross boundaries of race, color and have human solidarity that will help us to promote our cause,” she said.
Speaking about youth and self-identity, Amb. Mathilde called on parents to take their children to Rwanda to learn the culture of their country. She also proposed a cultural training in the communities as an alternative to enable young people to learn language, patriotism, social relations, sports, dancing, songs, etc. “This is even something you can organize in your host communities, in your homes, it’ strong possible.”
The colorful event that featured performances by Rwandan artists like Intore Masamba, The Ben and Dallas-based traditional dancers and fashion show attracted not only Rwandans but also friends of Rwanda.
Around 250 people attended the event with over 2500 following it online.
Rwanda considers its citizens living abroad as a relevant and integral constituency of the country and recognizes the vital role they play in its political and socio-economic development.
According to Sandrine Maziyateke, USRCA global remittances to Rwanda totaled to $ 274 million in 2020. 37 % went to family and household support, 24 % to education (tuition) while16 % was for construction of houses.
On the sidelines of the event, leaders of United States Rwanda Community abroad (USRCA) met a day before in a retreat to discuss how to further their contribution to Rwanda’s socio-economic transformation, maintaining a healthy, united community & strengthening ties with the US.
Mr. Yehoyada Mbangukira, president of USRCA reminded community leaders to revisit and reflect on USRCA vision for a better performance. “This is why we have been entrusted with leading our communities”.
Amb. Mathilde Mukantabana, with reference to African Union’s agenda 2063, tasked the leaders of USRCA to set sound strategies to position themselves and make their voice heard globally while connecting with their country to capitalize on their potential.
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