Miss Rwanda Contestants urged to fight gender stereotypes, promote equality
The timing couldn’t have been any better on March 9, when the Director General of Family Promotion and Child Protection Directorate at the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion, Mireille Batamuliza had a pep talk with Miss Rwanda 2021 contestants.
Just a day after International Women’s Day 2021, which Rwanda joined the rest of the world to celebrate, the contestants were taken through Rwanda’s journey and deliberate efforts to empower women and give girls equal opportunities as their brothers.
Batamuliza briefed the girls on the meaning of gender equality, explaining to them that equality does not mean women or girls challenging men or boys for their positions but rather putting in place the right laws and policies that do not exclude women or girls.
“When we are talking about equality, we are talking about the girl child getting the same opportunities as the boy child. If it is about education, they both go to school, if it is at home, they both get an equal distribution of chores and equal playtime,”
“It starts early. If two children, a boy and a girl come from school, the boy goes to play and the girl child gets buried in house chores, or even misses school because they need to do certain things at home, that is not equality,” Batamuliza said.
Batamuliza said that there is no proof that if boys do house chores, they will have a certain problem, wondering what would happen if parents gave birth to boys only.
The official said that Rwanda as a country, has come from far, dismantling practices that excluded women and girls, where women for example could not inherit land but today women have a right to inherit or own land as their male counterparts.
She pointed out that after reviewing policies on land ownership to allow women to inherit or buy and own land, 24% of registered land belongs to women. The number doesn’t include land owned by couples.
“Today as you might be aware, we are among the countries that have the highest number of female parliamentarians. In Africa, we are number one and globally we are in 3rd place. Rwanda is ranked 9th country globally, among countries that have ensured gender inclusiveness in its socio-economic development,” Batamuliza said.
“But that is not to say that there are no challenges. This is where your role as Miss Rwanda contestants comes in. You now have a platform to help us tackle these challenges that are affecting gender inclusiveness and equity,”
“We still have people with a negative mindset, who deliberately refuse to understand the essence of gender equality and inclusiveness. We still have people who say that by empowering women, you are depriving men of their birth rights,” Batamuliza said.
She pointed out that the MIGEPROF believes that Miss Rwanda is a platform to empower girls to not only to discover their inner selves but also gives them a podium on which they can challenge gender stereotypes and practices that discriminate against women and girls.
“Miss Rwanda is a platform that gives you an opportunity to see these challenges we face in our societies and play your role in contributing towards eliminating them. When you are here, you brain opens up, you write your own projects and have time to think and develop yourselves mentally,”
“You are all still young, with lots of dreams ahead. You can go out there and see the challenges young girls who didn’t have an opportunity to be here are facing and come up with projects to support them,” Batamuliza said.
The MIGEPROF official told Miss Rwanda 2021 contestants to start by identifying the challenges they faced as young girls and then use the platform they have today to fight practices that hold back the girl child.
Among other challenges, she urged the girls to stand up against the challenges of sexual exploitation where young girls are targeted by men, fight gender-based violence and be ambassadors of sexual and reproductive health rights.
She told Miss Rwanda 2021 contestants that today Rwanda faces a challenge of teenage pregnancies, which are depriving girls of their right to education and puts their lives in peril.
Batamuliza urged the girls to think about projects that support young girls who face these challenges, which start right from their families, where they are abused sexually.
The girls were given an opportunity to ask questions and share ideas during the interactive session. They vowed to add their contribution to fight the aforementioned challenges, to make a difference in their societies.
The 20 girls continue with the bootcamp program at La Palisse Nyamata, where they are trained and briefed on different policies and laws and to fine tune their own projects ahead of the finale scheduled for Saturday, March 20, 2021.
