As we are communicating with supporters, it is not uncommon for people to ask us about the situation faced by the women of Rwanda. The answer that we give is usually a two-level response. At the government and organizational level, Rwanda has a strong emphasis on gender equality. In 2008 Rwanda became 1st country in the world to have a majority of women in their legislature. And they continue to lead in this area. As of Jan 1, 2020, Rwanda is number one in the world with 61.25% of their Members of Parliament as women. (Senate numbers are lower with 38.46%.) This emphasis has also been seen in the departments and laws that the Rwandan government has established to battle injustice against women. So this is very positive.
However, the second level of our response has to do with the
grass-roots level. In the day-to-day
lives of many Rwandans, one still finds discriminatory and destructive
traditions that affect women. The way
that some are treated at home, at work, and even in the church shows that the
job is still not finished. That is why
the Rwandan government is pleased when organizations such as CBM’s partner, the
Association of Baptist Churches of Rwanda (AEBR), make efforts that reach out
to address these issues. Our colleague,
Laetitia Dusabimana, is the head of AEBR’s Department of Women and Family. In that role, over the last few years, she
has led projects such as “Women’s Empowerment”, “Women’s Literacy”, and “Gender
and Family Ministries”. (I – Darrell - have
the privilege of working with Laetitia as a co-teacher of the Family Ministry
trainings.)
 |
| Laetitia with one of the many literacy classes |
 |
| Laetitia with some wives during a family ministry training |
During our home assignment back in Canada last year, we were supposed to participate in the annual gathering of the Atlantic Baptist Women called “interMISSION" as they celebrated their 150th anniversary. Laura Lee was supposed to lead a workshop, and so she prepared by interviewing four Rwandan women and was planning on sharing their stories. Unfortunately, COVID-19 led to the cancellation of interMISSION, so the workshop never happened. As an alternative, Laura Lee did a short video in which she shared the stories of those women and then that video was posted on the Atlantic Baptist Women’s Facebook page just prior to Christmas. We thought we would share it here as well since it is still applicable. (Even though Christmas is now past, you’ll be glad to know that the Hopeful Gifts for Change Catalogue, which Laura Lee mentions, is still active if that’s of interest to you.) If you would like to watch the video, just click on the following link: