The Eastern province emerged as the overall best region in the execution of the Women Champions (Mutimawurugo) performance contracts for the year 2022/2023, with five districts taking first place.
Women’s performance contracts, which are often signed at the district level, are intended to evaluate women’s contributions in crucial community development components.
The yearly activity has been going on since 2019, and it includes women leaders in the National Women’s Council (NWC) defining goals at the annual women’s retreat (Itorero).
The women’s performance contracts, which are carried out in the “Mutimawurugo Model Village,” are assessed in a variety of development activities, including the formation of saving clubs, the mobilization of women in vocational education and training, better health, hygiene, and sanitation practices, and the battle against malnutrition.
The contracts are also reviewed in terms of managing child pregnancies and street children, boosting physical activity to combat rising Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), preventing children from dropping out of school, and resolving family dispute in order to form families, among other things.
The NWC recognized the top five districts on August 30th, 2023 as part of the preparations for the 22nd annual NWC General Assembly, which is scheduled for coming Thursday.
Ngoma, Rutsiro, Nyaruguru, and Gasabo are the most populous districts.
According to Jackline Kamanzi, the NWC Executive Secretary, despite the strong performance, certain districts face issues.
These, according to Kamanzi, include creating performance contract reports with data that does not synchronize and classifying reports that are not up to par due to missing crucial information.
According to NWC Chairperson Bellancille Nyirajyambere, hygiene and sanitation should be something that reminds women of their importance and the need to take it seriously.
“There is a need for women to take responsibility, and there is more work ahead of us, particularly in eliminating teenage pregnancy and other societal problems that require the role of women,” Nyirajyambere added.
Dr. Valentine Uwamariya, the MIGEPROF Minister who officiated the award event, pushed women leaders to focus on areas that require immediate attention, particularly nutrition, and urged women to take the lead in decreasing the current 33% national stunting rates.
Tito Rutaremara, the Chairperson of the Council of Elders Advisory Forum and a guest speaker at the event, praised women’s role in the country’s liberation struggle up to the present day, but stated that despite women’s achievements in leadership, economic sectors have their roles at lower levels are demanding.
“Your participation and taking on these roles will only make me successful at these levels.” You, not the president or the ministers. Why do we have women in positions of power but not in villages, cells, or sectors? “Take on these roles to make the difference that we all desire,” Rutaremara said.
Rutaremara exhorted women leaders not to be happy with the constitution’s provision of 30% leadership space; instead, he urged them to fight for their rights in families, including the right to have a set number of children.
“Neither the government nor the president will fight for your rights in bed.” It is up to you to fight for this right, and doing so necessitates standing up for each of these rights,” Rutaremara remarked.
