Happy Women’s day Ladies. S/O to our men who advocate for the ladies, every day.  I had the pleasure of joining MTN Rwanda staff celebrations, it was quite nice and the MC had me cracking up each time he spoke :-).  My highlight was a deeply moving presentation and call to join them in the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV) by ACP Badege and Sup. Goretti from Rwanda Police.  My throat chocked up as I held back my tears from the statistics shown and hearing that our people commit suicide due to GBV.  Couldn’t help but imagine how helpless they feel to give up the fight.  The following questions came to mind:

1. Teen pregnancies are too high and girls pay the price. Why aren’t boys/men who impregnate them also put to task? It is a crime to have sex with someone under 18 years old, we call it defilement, but girls suffer alone. Can we please give these girls a second chance at life to go back to school so they can make something of themselves and provide their children a better future?
2. Domestic violence plagues over 56% of our homes. In fact according to police, as sensitization grows, the more worse the statics get.  Most awareness/initiatives are the district level, understandable given resource constraints. What are we citizens doing to ensure awareness in every household of every village?
3. What are we doing to ensure our children don’t end up in the same ugliness, and can stand up against GBV now and in the future?
4. We have better access to education. Has this improved self-esteem among our girls/young women and boys too? Do our young women graduate with enough confidence to secure a job without feeling the need to give sexual favors for a job?
5. We are aiming for 50/50 equality by 2030. I know we can get there earlier by enacting bold policies which cultivate self-esteem and gender equality. Can we change our curriculum accordingly?
6. Isange Stop Center is a fantastic and kudos to our government led by Rwanda Police and our First Lady who ensure it is working well and scaling up to all districts. What will it take to have subsidiaries in each village or at least cell? I was happy to hear that existing helplines 116 and 3512 are being used by children to report abuse or neglect. How do we ensure every child knows this number and that they can use it to save themselvestheir abused siblings/parents?
7. Our boys are also abused. What are we doing to them and men given that all the advocacy we hear is for women? Can we educate/empower our boys to breed HeForShe gentlemen in the future.
8. Many of our women/girls and men suffer GBV but when they seek help, they are told by elders, even parents, “niko zubakwa” – “this is how homes are built.” Our parents’ story doesn’t have to be ours! What will it take to oust this vicious cycle?
9. According to FINSCOPE 2016, women are the most financially excluded from our banking sector. We need to educate our women on the value of banking and our banks need to design products which speak to the deeply felt needs of women. What can we do to get more women banked?
10. We need role models to mentor our children into strong leaders/voices against GBV/inequality in the future.  Can we step up and BE mentors/find mentors who can be a sounding board on life/career decisions/issues? Can we please introduce career guidance offices in every secondary school/institutions of higher learning (university/TVET)?

Achieving 50/50 is doable and it starts with each of us: how we conduct ourselves, manage our affairs and inspire others to do/be their best.  I think the answers to these questions can contribute to stepping it up for gender empowerment/equality.