In the picture H.E. Heidemaria Gürer Ambassador of Austria arriving to Rwanda´s event.
For International Women’s Day, the Embassy of Rwanda to The Netherlands along with the Rwandan Women Association in The Netherlands, organised on March 16 an event to celebrate and display Rwanda’s culture and progress in gender equality and women empowerment.
By Aurore Heugas.
“International Women’s Day is a celebration of respect, appreciation, love and care towards women in your life and society” was a statement spoken at the Rwandan Embassy’s celebration for International Women’s Day on March 16, 2019.
Taking place at the Hilton hotel in The Hague, the event was an opportunity for the Rwandan embassy, in cooperation with the Rwandan Women Association in The Netherlands, to showcase their country’s achievements in gender equality and women empowerment.
This year, several themes were enumerated for International Women’s Day. UN Women’s theme was “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”. Their focus was to find new ways to advance gender equality and women empowerment, “particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructures”, according to the organisation.
The official website of International Women’s Day listed the global theme for this year as “Balance for Better”, which was open for interpretation for each country to suit their needs.
The goal for this year is to involve everyone; women and men, to aspire to reach gender balance in every aspect of society. In 2019, the Embassy of Rwanda’s take on that theme was “Together, let’s build a safe family”.
The event felt like both the UN Women and International Women Day’s themes had been merged. Several speakers, men and women alike, talked about the importance of achieving more balanced family dynamics, by offering equal opportunities and equal respect to everyone.
For them, if your home is stable, you already have a better chance to thrive, get an education and continue the cycle of equal opportunities later on.
More than talking about building safer families, the celebration of International Women’s Day promoted the work of strong women in Rwanda, in an effort of women empowerment.
Coffee was an example of how a simple act, like buying coffee, can make a difference. The event showcased and gave samples of Bekske coffee amongst others. Bekske Coffee is a Dutch-Rwandan project, that aims to support female survivors of sexual violence during the genocide in Rwanda.
Instead of buying coffee from larger companies with a set price for the kilo of beans, which then only gives 26 cents, or a very small percentage back to the original coffee workers, the Dutch foundation supports female coffee entrepreneurs by buying coffee from a local partner, where 8.23 euros per kilo goes back to support the local population and women in the program.
In addition, 25% of the profits go directly to the women workers in Rwanda, for them to be able to have a chance at an education and a better everyday life.
Through the promotion of that foundation and that coffee, the event helped further three of the sixteen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere”
- SDG 5: Reach gender equality and empower all women and girls”
- SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.
However hopeful and proud of Rwanda’s accomplishments, the women of the Rwandan Women Association were also honest about what is still left to do. “As a country, we have made great progress when it comes to women’s political participation, school attendance of girls, heritage rights to name a few achievements. But as our president said recently, there is much more to do in Rwanda to ensure women feel safe and enjoy equal opportunities.”
