Rwanda commends women’s leadership potential, urging African governments to include more female in their political processes for effective governance.
Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Louise Mushikiwabo, made the remarks during the Fourth High Level Dialogue on Democracy Human Rights and Governance in Kigali.
Co-organised by the Government of Rwanda through the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) and the African Union Commission, the event attracted over 300 women leaders in political parties and research institutions from across Africa.
Mushikiwabo called for greater women inclusion and participation in political processes to spur African countries’ quest for national development.
Although women make up a large segment of the African population, their proportion in African politics leaves a lot to be desired.
“African women constitute over two-thirds of the agricultural workforce, yet there is no country, in Africa or elsewhere, where women’s representation in political leadership, matches the contributions they make,” she said.
She further reiterated that women are not the sole beneficiaries when involved in political processes; she added that Women empowerment is also a human rights issue.
“When seen in the wider context of profound changes that women’s empowerment catalyses, you could even argue, that men benefit ever more than women themselves do. A society which denies women their rightful place cannot guarantee rights for anyone else either.”
The African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Dr. Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, lauded the progress that Rwanda has made in empowering women at all levels.
“As at the start of the year 2014, 64% of legislative seats in Rwanda were held by women, from these statistics, Rwanda dwarfs everybody else, including Nordic countries that for a long time enjoyed the highest rates of women representation. Rwanda is truly the world’s superpower on gender parity.”
Participants at the High Level Dialogue agreed that obstacles hampering the full participation of African women in politics and political parties include: high illiteracy levels, poverty and age-old stereotypes about what women can or cannot do.
Themed “Women’s participation and leadership in political parties in Africa,” the Fourth High Level Dialogue on Democracy Human Rights and Governance was preceded by a Youth Pre-Forum and will run from 7-8 December in Kigali. Key policy recommendations from the Dialogue will be submitted to the AU Heads of State and Government Summit in January 2016.
The last annual Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance in Africa was held in October 2014 in Dakar, Senegal.