BUJUMBURA, November 7th (ABP) – On Thursday, October 31, 2024, Burundi joined countries around the world in celebrating International Rural Women’s Day, which is celebrated every year on October 15. The day was celebrated under the theme: “Rural women, nature’s support for our collective future”.
According to Véronique Barindogo, Assistant to the Minister for Solidarity, the aim of the day is to support rural women in their projects for self-development and the development of the country, and to raise awareness among governments and the general public of the importance of rural women’s activities in the life of the country. Rural women contribute enormously to the protection of nature,” said Barindogo, adding that they are the ones who prepare food and grow crops. For that reason, she pointed out, the people, as well as foreigners living in Burundi, must support rural women in the protection of nature, for there can be no life without nature, Barindogo added.
To support rural women, the State of Burundi and its development partners have launched a number of initiatives, including the creation of the Women’s Bank to grant credit for women’s development projects, and capacity-building for women in cooperatives and associations to plan their projects, according to Barindogo.
Financial institutions, for their part, are called upon to support rural women by granting them funds to implement their projects and monitor their progress. As for rural women, Barindogo urged them to apply the advice of their supervisors in carrying out their projects, to help achieve the vision of Burundi as an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060.
For his part, Léonard Ndikiminwe, who represented UN Women at the ceremonies, expressed his recognition of the fundamental contribution of rural women to the local and national economy. Without them, he added, no economic, environmental, social or sustainable change would be possible.
That day,” said Ndikiminwe,” is an opportunity to listen to their voices and respond to their concerns, in order to take action to protect their fundamental rights and support their economic and social development.
To that end, we need to combat the discrimination and deprivation from which rural women continue to suffer. Because, he pointed out, rural women make a greater contribution to increasing productivity, eliminating hunger and helping their communities cope with the effects of climate change and soil degradation.
For that reason, Mr. Ndikiminwe specified, we must take into account the commitments in favor of rural women, so that together we can achieve the objectives of sustainable and equitable development. He concluded by reiterating the commitment of the United Nations and development partners to improving access to productive resources, food security, nutrition and rural livelihoods.
Merdienne Nijimbere, who represented the rural women, thanked the Burundian government for all the measures taken to help rural women realize their development projects. Although they appreciated many things, the rural women asked the government to decentralize the financial institutions committed to supporting women’s development projects. They also urged their husbands to help them with household chores.