BUJUMBURA, June 12th (ABP) – The Ministry of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender, with the support of development partners in the promotion of gender equality, including the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (DDCS), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and UN Women in Burundi, officially presented Burundi’s new Gender Equality Country Profile (GECP) report, 2023 edition, on Friday 7 June.
Drawing inspiration from various international, regional and sub-regional instruments on equal rights for women and men, Burundi has decided to strengthen its commitments to gender equality by putting in place legislative, normative, political and programmatic frameworks for action aimed at achieving equity and equal rights for women and men,” said Imelde Sabushimike, Minister for Gender, in her speech.
She went on to say that the Constitution of Burundi continues to serve as a reference tool for the representation of women in decision-making positions, which is a minimum of 30%. That is also reflected in the new constitution revised in 2018, she stressed. She added that that report would be the first reference tool for updating and aligning the national gender policy with the 2040-2060 vision.
Clara Anyangwe, UN Women’s representative in Burundi, said that that product was part of the operational programme to implement Burundi’s gender strategy, and aimed to provide a general overview of the situation regarding equality between men and women in Burundi. The aim is to facilitate the development of national strategies, programmes and projects that take gender equality into account, and to contribute to the dialogue that will make it possible to identify and prioritise targeted actions with a high potential impact for women, girls and young people”, she explained.
According to Mrs Anyangwe, Burundi’s PPEG is also an advocacy document for the ministry in charge of gender and for all development partners involved in gender mainstreaming in government investment projects and development programmes.
During the presentation of that report, it was emphasised that the objectives pursued were, on the one hand, to analyse trends and identify and understand the determinants of key indicators relating to gender equality and women’s empowerment in Burundi and, on the other hand, to propose courses of action or recommendations to respond to the persistent challenges identified by public authorities, development partners and civil society organisations working for a more dignified life for women and girls in Burundi.
A number of recommendations were made during the preparation of that report. Those include restructuring the ministry responsible for gender so that it focuses exclusively on issues of gender inequality and social inclusion, ensuring equal representation of women and men in the CENI, supporting initiatives for the economic empowerment of women and girls, and strengthening women’s access to financial services
Note that Burundi’s PPEG report has just been published after an absence of 12 years.