Kigali, 9th August 2017

Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi urged women to enrich their leadership skills and be able to compete for leadership position in sports and become mentors for young men and women seeking to work in sports activities.

He was yesterday speaking at Kigali Convention Centre while officially opening the Advancing Women in Leadership Forum for Africa and Asia that is taking place in Kigali.

Prime Minister pointed out that Rwanda made tremendous improvement in the promotion of gender equality with 64% of Parliamentary seats occupied by women and that the trend is seen in other decision making positions.

“Despite the fact that Rwanda has done a lot in promoting gender equality and sports, we still have gaps in representation of women in sports leadership. Currently, the number of women in the Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee is at 42,8%; but in the National Sports Federations, they are only 16%.” Said Prime Minister Murekezi

Anastase Murekezi added that the world has changed and that men and momen have to be treated equal in all domains.

He urged all participants to the forum, to advise African and Asian Countries on how better to advance women in sports leadership and participation.

Prime Minister Anastase Murekezi said that Rwanda, with its commitment to international engagement, is ready to implement the forum’s recommendations.

This 3-days meeting organized by the International Olympic Committee taking place in Kigali- Rwanda brought together over 200 leaders of sports federations from across Africa and Asia to discuss the empowerment of women in sport leadership.

 Rwanda was chosen to host the forum since it is seen as a model for other African countries in showing that inclusion is a driving force in the economic development.