BUJUMBURA, March 7th (ABP) – On the eve of the celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March each year, the President of the Republic of Burundi, Évariste Ndayishimiye, received the members of the board of the National Women’s Forum (FNF) at the Palais Ntare Rushatsi on Tuesday 4 March 2025.
Emerance Bucumi, President of the FNF, told the media that the meeting with the Head of State had been an opportunity to present the major achievements of the FNF from 2022 to 2025.
The major achievements include raising awareness among women of the legal and institutional framework for the protection of women’s rights. Women have also been encouraged to form cooperatives and develop bankable projects to obtain loans from banks, especially the Women’s Investment Bank (BIDF), to help them achieve economic development and independence. According to Bucumi, couples have been sensitised to the need for peaceful cohabitation.
The FNF President took the opportunity to point out to the Head of State that, with the help of the Chinese Embassy in Burundi, a delegation of Burundian women had travelled to China to share their experience with Chinese women who had already achieved sustainable development. On the subject of challenges, Bucumi said that the FNF had observed that children’s education had deteriorated. She explained that that is because parents are not taking enough time to look after their children. As a result, she cited the following: young girls contracting unwanted pregnancies at school, children born to unknown fathers, a high number of street children disrupting the safety of families and the country in general, a lack of regulations on inheritance, and so on.
The President of the FNF said that after hearing all those challenges, the Burundian Prime Minister gave them some advice. He asked the FNF to continue raising awareness so that the family is always taken into consideration, so that families remain united. Families that are separated or in conflict create a lot of problems in the country. If children are to be properly brought up, women must play their full part. With regard to the regulations on inheritance, the Head of State has asked the FNF to draw up an inventory of all the related challenges so that they can be included in the Individual and Family Code. A technical commission of the Presidency of the Republic will work jointly with the FNF. The Head of State took the opportunity to wish all women a happy 8th March.