Global actors meet to improve gender inclusion
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Hundreds of prominent leaders from around the world including heads of state, development partners, NGOs and academia began a meeting on Monday in Kigali at the 4th Global Gender Summit aimed at sharing experience on how to address challenges that hinder gender equality.
This year's global meeting, which runs until Wednesday, will hear discussions involving more than 2,000 invited guests set to tackle the theme, "Unpacking constraints to gender equality", organisers of the summit said.
The three-day conference will feature dozens of political leaders, influencers and major players in increasing diversity and inclusion in different sectors.
Mostly composed of women, the summit will mainly focus on three key dimensions to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment: scaling up innovative financing; fostering an enabling environment (legal, regulatory and institutional) and ensuring women’s participation and voices.
According to the organisers of the Kigali meeting, these dimensions will be articulated around three main thematic areas: climate change; private sector development; and human capital and productive employment.
The digital revolution will also be addressed throughout the sessions as a cross-cutting theme.
The world is on Monday marking International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to stamp out abuse of women and girls.
Violence against women and girls is among the most widespread, and devastating human rights violations in the world, but much it is often unreported due to impunity, shame and gender inequality, the UN has highlighted.
It said a third of all women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, half of women killed worldwide were killed by their partners or family, and violence perpetrated against women is as common a cause of death and incapacity for those of reproductive age, as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than road accidents and malaria combined.
On the importance of underlining female roles, Rwandan President Paul Kagame noted that being a man in a position of leadership, at any level, means never having to think about your gender.
"Instead, being a woman leader, means always having to think about how gender impacts your work because whatever women gain everybody gains and no one loses," Kagame said.
Speaking in the same vein, the President of African Development Bank (AfDB) Akinwumi Adesina stressed the need for ending all forms of child marriage noting that "we cannot sacrifice the future of our girls."
"To the men, let our girls stay in school. Let our girls thrive. Let our girls excel,” Adesina said.
The Global Gender Summit is organized by the AfDB with other multilateral development bank partners.
The biennial event brings together leaders from government, development institutions, private sector, civil society and academia.
-0- PANA TWA/MA 25Nov2019
