WUNRN
Rwanda: Institutionalisation of Gender Equality Advances as Rwanda Establishes the Gender Observatory
Ms
Oda Gasizingwa, the Chief Gender Monitor takes the oath of office.
As a step towards gender equality in
Rwanda, three officials; Oda Gasinzigwa
(Chief Gender Monitor), Eugenié Kabagema, (Deputy Chief Monitor in Charge of
Fighting Gender Based Violence) and Cyrille Turatsinze ( Deputy Gender Monitor
in charge of Gender) were sworn in on the 27th of January 2009 as
administrators of the newly instituted Gender Observatory in Rwanda.
The
establishment of the Gender Observatory is in conformity with article 185 of
the National Constitution of Rwanda. The
Chief Gender monitor Oda Gasinzigwa,
explained that the Observatory will work hand in hand with other government
institutions, such as the National Institute of Statistics, to ensure that
gender is mainstreamed at all levels and
gender disaggregated data is collected to inform policy processes. “We will cut
across all sectors of the economy, identify gender performance and give reports
that reflect the gaps in the development system which will be a basis for
decision making,” she said.
UNIFEM has been a strong
advocate for the establishment of the Gender Observatory and has already
initiated discussions with the Observatory on collaboration in the context of
the new governance program, which will be jointly implemented with UNDP.
UNIFEM’s role as host and co-chair of the Gender Task Force within the One UN,
and its co-chairing of the governance theme group provide immediate avenues for
supporting the agenda of the Observatory. An obvious issue will be monitoring
the implementation of gender commitments in the Economic Development for
Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS).
The ceremony, held at the
Supreme Court, was presided over by the Chief Justice Aloysia Cyanzaire and
attended by the Prime Minister Bernard Makuza, the Minister for Gender, Dr
Jeanne d’Arc Mujawamariya, together with other cabinet ministers, senators,
members of Parliament and civil society representatives. The collective message
to the newly sworn-in officials was to recognize the responsibility given to
them to ensure that present and future generations build the nation based on
gender equality and fairness. SGBV was recognized as a major challenge for
women’s active participation in
For further information please
contact:
Nora Kokanova (UNIFEM Central Africa Regional
Office, Kigali)
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