MPs call for conceited effort in the fight against gender based violence

MPs call for conceited effort in the fight against gender based violence

BY GEORGE KAGAME


Members of Parliament attending the Wednesday early morning session called on government and relevant institutions to eradicate all forms of violence in families particularly against wives. The legislators, as part of national events to mark the "16 Days of activism against gender based violence", beginning on the same day till 10 December were debating a report compiled by Rwanda National Police on the gender based violence covering the period from 2005-08.

The report revealed alarming cases of attacks against women including rape, defilement, corporal punishment as well as murder by their husbands. In a chilling report, Nyirahirwa Venerandi said that there 259 wives murdered by their husbands in the three years, during the same period, Nyirahirwa said there were over 2000 reported cases of rape to the police in the country and fatally almost 10,000 cases of defilement of children below the age of 18. The report however didnot show statistics concerning gender based violence directed to husbands by their wives.

Nura Nikuze said that sexual harassment was a major concern in the country "sexual harassment at work places is common and needs to be addressed". She said because of the stigma and cultural concerns surrounding the issue, many women were afraid to report cases to authorities and in some cases police officers were wont to tell married women that "your husband beat you up because of your big heads because of emancipation," once these women try to report their violent husbands to authorities.

Nura further appealed to the Fund for Genocide Survivors-FARG to help catering for the scholarship needs of children whose mothers were raped during the 1994 Genocide. One MP said that the Rwandan population need to be sensitized on the Gender Violence Act recently passed by parliament, she asked whether going by current figures marriage was not overstated in the country, "Is it extremely difficult for married couples in Rwanda to have a peaceful separation or divorce that they resort to murder, or is divorce abolished?"

The MPs debate on gender violence is part of national events that the government through the National Gender Cluster in the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion along with the United Nations' Fund for the Development of Women have organized to cover the "16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence" campaign to promote gender equality in the country.

The 16 days of activism against gender violence were enacted as UN observed days since 25 November in 1981, in Rwanda, the National Gender Cluster in a communique to the press stated that they have organized major activities to honour the day. These include educational workshops to increase sensitization of government structures like Gacaca, Land and Labour Laws, and the gender based violence Act recently passed by parliament. This year's theme "Human Rights for Women-Human Rights for all", according to the gender cluster is part of on going efforts to raise awareness and call for action against all forms of Gender Based Violence.

Critics note that much as Rwanda continues to be a model country in promoting women empowerment in Africa and the world, as evidenced by the virtue of the country having the highest representation of women in national and local legislative sectors than any other country in the world. Rwanda also remains with many lessons to learn in gender promotion as it recovers from the fatal effects of the 1994 Genocide where scores of women were raped and alot more exposed to the most brutal punishment by especially the Interahamwe community vigilantes. There are many of the victims of this terror in Rwandan society.

The chilling revelations by Police of the extend of gender based violence in the country will put to shame the recent parliamentary elections in Rwanda where more woman than men won parliamentary seats and put Rwanda top of the lost of countries with the most gender friendly policies.