First Lady: Women and Men should contribute equally to economic development

First Lady Jeannette Kagame emphasized that sustainable development is achievable when women and men contribute equally to economic development. During the Gender Global Summit expounded that the willingness to uplift women in different levels contributed enormously to national development. 

During this discussion, The First Lady of Rwanda revealed the existing gap between men and women when it comes to their contribution to national development. 

She explained that Rwanda has shown that political will to bridge the divide, by increasing the number of girls going to school and women in leadership positions. She projected that development is difficult if women and men don’t equally contribute to economic development. 

Kenyan first lady, Margaret Kenyatta, during her keynote address explained that her country was striving to increase the number of girls attending school but there were still cultural impediments. However, she explained that education was IMPORTANT in dealing with such shortcomings. 

Mrs. Kagame projected that women in leadership positions were 61%, those in education at 53.9% and the agriculture sector covering 64.6%. The political will also increase the number of girls attending high schools to 53.2% and those in tertiary education at 52.7%. 

The First Ladies of Kenya and Rwanda both noted that there were challenges that continue to violate the rights of women and girls when it comes to access to finance, land ownership and also making decisions on their lives.