The co-founder of the umbrella of all women associations in Rwanda Suzanne Ruboneka has urged women to respect their husbands despite the needed gender equality in Rwanda.
Ruboneka was speaking at the Rwanda Television and Radio joint show dubbed Kubaza Bitera Kumenya(asking is knowing) at Telecom House, Kacyiru on Sunday.
She said that some women have used gender equality as an escape route to exercise their wickedness yet it does not take away the values of an African woman or a house wife.
“Gender equality means that a woman is no longer kept inside doors, or pushed into limitations of having freedom as human being and not allowed to access the culturally denounced culture like working or public speaking but that does not give her a right to disrespect her husband, a man will always be the head of the family,” Ruboneka said in a show hosted in preparation of the international women’s day to take place March 8, 2012.
The radio show was attended by women leaders from National Women Council, Avega-Agahozo,Parliament and from the ministry of Gender and Family promotion.
A lot of questions that were asked by the audience in a call-in session and the participants at the show reflected the equality between girls and boys and violence between men and women.
They highlighted that even boys have been denied or have faced barriers in life making it hard for them access their basic rights or deny them their basic needs.
Similarly, men were also said to have faced enormous domestic violence, where they panel jointly agreed and said there is a lot being done to fight such violence.
The panel also tackled on mistreatment of girls who conceive unwanted, planed and premature pregnancies from their respective homes or by their said spouses.
Rwanda will celebrate International Women’s Day with the rest of the world on March 8th 2012. This year, International Women’s Day will also be the beginning of Rwanda Women and Girls’ Month.
This year’s International Theme is ‘Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures’ while the national theme has been adopted as ‘Empower Women and Girls to Sustain Families’
Rwanda Women and Girls’ Month will be focusing on the activities across the country fighting Malnutrition with ‘Eat Healthy, Live Healthy slogan.
Other include promoting Economic Empowerment of Women, promoting Girls’ Education and women and Good Governance.
As mothers, home makers and care takers, women play a vital part and are well placed to end malnutrition if properly educated and equipped with resources, knowledge and the skills they need to prepare nutritious meals for their families and ensure that the children under their care are well fed and healthy.
The Ministry of Health (MINISANTE) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) will lead activities on this focus.
MINISANTE will engage in creating public awareness of the health sector services available in this initiative in collaboration with various stakeholders and community members.
Activities at the community level will include but are not limited to agricultural demonstrations on how to establish a good kitchen garden, what composes and how to plan and prepare nutritious meals.
Gender equality has been a government policy in Rwanda for many years now and the positive political will and various strategies have gone a long way in achieving a status for women that is above many other countries.
ENDS
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