Rwanda

The president of the National Women Council (NWC), Dr. Diane Gashumba, has said that during the council's just concluded 7-year mandate, they achieved a lot in regards to uplifting and empowering women in the country.

Gashumba made the remarks, yesterday, while addressing journalists at a news conference held at the Prime Minister's office, yesterday.

Over 400 women from Gahini Sector, Kayonza District, yesterday, completed at wo-day training on poverty eradication and basic rights.

Dr. Diane Gashumba, the chairperson of National Women Council (NWC), said the training was aimed at equipping the participants with knowledge that would enable them contribute to socio-economic development.

An "incoherent" clause in the draft bill that will determine the structure, mission and functions of the National Women Council (NWC), on Tuesday put a halt to the debate as most legislators in the lower chamber requested that it first corrected before further deliberations.

After winning an International Award, Reseau des Femmes, a Women organisation, has finalised plans to expand its reach, with focus on rural women and economic empowerement, set to become a priority.

Beata Busasa, the association's national coordinator, revealed this, on Friday, during a ceremony to celebrate the award won in September.

Reporters Without Borders is extremely shocked by the long jail sentences that a prosecutor requested yesterday for two newspaper journalists who, after six months in pre-trial detention, are being tried before a Kigali high court on a range of charges including genocide denial and inciting public disorder.

The National Electoral Commission (NEC) has released tentative figures of registered voters who will cast their votes in forthcoming local leaders' elections, which indicate that, 5,417,886 people have so far been registered.

Rwandan Women Find Strength in Each Other

An official at the National Electoral Commission (NEC) has called upon women leaders to sensitize their compatriots countrywide to compete in the upcoming local authorities' elections. The elections are scheduled to take place in February and March 2011.

The abuse of women has been going on for centuries and it is often the case that a woman is killed before the problem is taken seriously. The United Nations Fund for the Development of Women (UNIFEM), recently launched an initiative to improve the safety and welfare of women in five major cities: New Delhi (India), Cairo (Egypt), Quito (Ecuador), Kigali (Rwanda), and Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea).

The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Rwanda Chapter, would like to have additional policies and continued advocacy in order to further boost girls' education in the country.

This was said, yesterday, during FAWE's annual General Assembly, where the organisation's members received the 2009-2010 report and discussed plans for the following year.