Kigali, 22 October, 2010
President Kagame has received an award from the Rwanda National Women Council in recognition of his role in the emancipation of Rwandan women. The award was presented to him during an ‘Intsinzi’ party (celebration of August’s Presidential election victory) organized by the National Women Council on Friday, October 22 at ‘Petit Stade’ in Remera.
In his address to hundreds of women who attended the function, President Kagame said that the emancipation of Rwandan women achieved so far was only the beginning and the best is yet to come. “What is usually said about women rights and the role of women in building the country is never put into practice. Rwanda is one of the few countries that have managed to fully observe the rights of women,” The President said.
President Kagame said that looking at where the country is today and where it has come from, it is evident that women have played a big role in the re-writing of the Rwandan story, a testimony of the significance of attaching value to women and empowering them. President Kagame said that efforts to empower women would increase during the 7 years of his new mandate and that the journey had just started.
“Rwanda’s interest is not just numbers but quality. There are stones, but when a stone is also gold it is referred to as a ‘precious stone’. We are not interested in having just Rwandan women but quality Rwandan women,” President Kagame said.
President Kagame said he would offer his support to women and men of Rwanda to work for the development, wellbeing, peace and stability of all Rwandans. He called on women to work hard for the development and wellbeing of their country and families and stand firm and defend the dignity of all Rwandans.