{"id":2000104716,"date":"2026-03-08T18:58:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T16:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/?p=2000104716"},"modified":"2026-03-09T11:01:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T09:01:57","slug":"president-kagame-celebrates-womens-role-in-rwandas-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/president-kagame-celebrates-womens-role-in-rwandas-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"President Kagame celebrates women\u2019s role in Rwanda\u2019s transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a message shared on X on March 8, the Head of State highlighted the resilience, leadership and innovation of women, noting that inclusive societies are essential for national progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHappy International Women\u2019s Day! Today and every day, we celebrate the foundational role women continue to play in Rwanda\u2019s transformation. Your resilience, ingenuity and leadership continue to affirm a simple truth: a nation can only truly progress when inclusion and equality are upheld in every sphere,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier, First Lady Jeannette Kagame also joined the global community in celebrating women, urging them to prioritise their wellbeing and continue advocating for themselves and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her message on X, the First Lady encouraged women to embrace self-care, define their boundaries and protect both their physical and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI urge you to carve your character carefully, define your boundaries, advocate for yourselves and other women and girls, and protect your physical and mental health. And please, love yourself with the same gentleness you give others \u2013 the same gentleness you wish and deserve to experience from the world,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observed annually on March 8, International Women\u2019s Day recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide. The day also serves as a global call to accelerate gender equality and address persistent challenges such as the gender pay gap, violence against women and underrepresentation in leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Rwanda, the occasion is marked by celebrations recognising women\u2019s contributions to families and national development, alongside initiatives promoting empowerment and gender equality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country has made notable progress in advancing women\u2019s participation in politics. Women currently hold 63.75 percent of seats in Parliament, up from just 12 percent in 1996, making Rwanda the country with the highest proportion of female parliamentarians globally in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of International Women\u2019s Day date back to early 20th-century labour and socialist movements in North America and Europe. In 1908, about 15,000 women marched in New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and voting rights, which led to the first National Woman\u2019s Day in 1909.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years later, in 1910, German activist Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an annual International Women\u2019s Day, which was first celebrated in several European countries in 1911. The day gained further prominence after women in Russia staged the \u201cBread and Peace\u201d strike in 1917, an event that helped pave the way for women gaining voting rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1977, the United Nations officially recognised March 8 as International Women\u2019s Day, cementing its status as a global observance dedicated to women\u2019s rights and world peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
President Paul Kagame during a past International Women\u2019s Day event. On Sunday, March 8, 2026, he joined global celebrations of the day, praising the vital role women continue to play in shaping Rwanda\u2019s development and transformation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

President Paul Kagame has joined global celebrations of International Women\u2019s Day, praising the vital role women continue to play in shaping Rwanda\u2019s development and transformation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000104717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000104716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000104717,"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-08-at-6.47.03-PM.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1080,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-08-at-6.47.03-PM.jpeg","width":150,"height":100},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-08-at-6.47.03-PM.jpeg","width":300,"height":200},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-08-at-6.47.03-PM.jpeg","width":768,"height":512},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-08-at-6.47.03-PM.jpeg","width":1024,"height":683},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-08-at-6.47.03-PM.jpeg","width":1080,"height":720}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000104716"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000104718,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000104716\/revisions\/2000104718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000104717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000104716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000104716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000104716"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000104716"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000104716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}