GITEGA October 20th (ABP) – The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender, Mr. Pontien Hatungimana, has described rural Burundian women as the linchpin in family, community or even national development. He delivered those words of appreciation on Tuesday, October 18, 2022, in Gitega (center of the country), on the occasion of the ceremonies marking celebration of the International Rural Women Day, 2022 edition, celebrated under the theme “rural women, at the center of a balanced diet for all’.
Commenting on the said theme, Mr. Hatungimana praised the rural Burundian woman, arguing that the place of choice belongs to her both in the production of family food and in that of cash crops.
A good diet procures good health, a sine qua non for the accomplishment of a useful work, he said, before suggesting to the same woman integrating pastoral activity into agriculture.
This method not only makes it possible to increase agricultural production, but also to obtain more financial means to improve living conditions, resulting, for example, in the improvement of housing and clothing, Mr. Hatungimana explained.
It is also a way of putting into practice the slogan of the Burundian Head of State who advocates that “every pocket should have money and every mouth what to eat”, he added.
Shortly before, the representative of rural women commended the efforts of the Burundian government in promoting them. She indicated that its good deeds include the free maternity and schooling as well as that of health care for children under five, the establishment of a bank in favor of women and the sensitization of women about self-promotion.
However, she has raised challenges which she has asked the government to address. She cited the persistence of gender-based violence, sexual, economic and domestic violence.
Another communication was that of the representative of the resident coordinator of the agencies of the United Nations system to Burundi. He also praised the government’s initiatives to engage women in their development and wished them to always go forward, promising that the United Nations organization will always remain by its side. It is worthy to note that prizes were offered to the best enterprising women.