Rwandan women have set a new world record, 64% of seats in the parliament

Rwanda’s First Lady, Jeannette Kagame and Senior Government Officials follow proceedings at the Meet the president series Kigali July 5^th 2013

Rwandan has truly  liberated its citizens, the country has emancipated all Rwandans without leaving behind those that were long undermined in many aspects including political aspect such as  women who have now set a new world record after recent parliamentary elections by reaching 64percent of seats in the Lower house of parliament.

The fact that their 56 per cent representation has just leaped to 64 per cent is seen by many as not just a matter of fate, but a result of deliberate efforts to encourage women to co-occupy the driving seat of the country’s destiny that for decades was the preserve of men.

Considerate Constitution

The Rwandan constitution has set 30% seats exclusively for women in the parliament as one of many efforts to empower them and therefore to tackle many issues that were causing them trouble namely Gender based violence, sex based corruption, and other kinds of violence women have been enduring due to extreme supremacy of men.

All this is being slowly rectified by many Government efforts and the education system that has enabled Rwandan girls to have same value with their brothers. Now, it seems women are wining more seats and can even compete with their compatriots men in normal elective seats.

The Rwandan ladies have done it again. Not satisfied with their number before? Maybe, but the hanger and the wish to actively have a big say in the management of “the country of one thousand hills” is clearly there.

The planners of the policy might have been surprised by the speedy outcome, that in so short a while, female representation has overshot the historical margin. Even without their special interest seats, women peeped their male counterparts in the openly-contested seats.

This is a sign that when policies are implemented to the core, they have immediate effect, and in the case of the just-concluded elections, the ladies have arrived. Now some sections of the male population are starting to query whether women should retain a 30 per cent favor in Parliament when they actually come before men in the free-for-all electoral process.

President Kagame input

Everything has a reason. And every construction has its architect. There is no doubt that President Paul Kagame has is the first promoter of Rwandan women empowerment. He always says that women deserve to play an important role in the development of a country.

President Kagame observes that enabling women to enjoy their rights is inalienable and the right thing to do in order for development to occur.

While he was addressing women leaders, the Head of State said that the Rwanda’s independence and liberation of Rwanda was about empowering groups like women with rights that they deserve. The meeting was following the youth leaders’ one who are also seeing a real change in their lives through the poverty reduction program (EDPRS) that has recently started.

This is set to boost business initiatives among the youth, women and other vulnerable people among the Rwandan society, and is meant to tickle all poverty related problems such as diseases, malnutrition, lack of savings etc., by 2020.

Apparently the culture of using women as a real forceful people in the development of the country is coming in Rwanda society minds and the president recognizes It has to be a normal process.

“We should get to that level where women empowerment becomes an ordinary way of doing thing, not only offered as a favour,” he said as the gathering erupted in cheers.  “A woman is not supposed to beg for her rights, she has a right to exercise such rights,” he added.

Having a woman Ombudsman, women Ministers and Director Generals, the speaker of the previous Lower chamber house of the parliament and other influential women people in the country, Rwanda is becoming a model in respecting human rights than suppressing them as some continue to say.

Rwandan women have set a new world record, 64% of seats in the parliament