Gitega, Burundi, 12/03/2015: She’s back; back not just to Burundi but back home in the East African Spirit. She’s been here before and is back again to walk along with the Barundi as they stroll into yet another election period, zealous to build on the peace savored for the past decade.
Drawing from a myriad of experiences working with and for women in Africa and beyond, Dr. Speciosa Wandira-Kazibwe, who is also Africa’s first female Vice-President, urged the women of Burundi attending a Round table meeting in Gitega Province, to courageously come up with a women’s manifesto. This she says would help take stock of the achievements registered since the Arusha Agreement signed at the start of the New Millennium, while also strategizing for full emancipation. The Agreement provides for 30% representation of women in Government and Parliament, but Dr. Wandira-Kazibwe sees no reason why this should not be 50% or preferably more, considering the inalienable role of women in society and their superiority in numbers.
She called on the women to actively vie for political office adding however, that to achieve this, there is need to have women’s issues streamlined through policy. “Without right policies clearly stating women’s demands, nobody will think about you”, she told the over 50 women leaders gathered to chart ways for ensuring participatory and peaceful elections.
Dr. Wandira-Kazibwe repeatedly shared graphical examples from her experience as a Surgeon and Mother of Twins, calling upon the Barundi to reject any cultural practices that negate women. “Women should stop stereotyping men, and must nurture their children to appreciate the reality that what men can do, women can do even better”, she emphasized. She added that what women need to thrive in politics, medicine, engineering, law, journalism and other professions, is their brain, and not what lies below their waists.
She faulted religion and the Bible for their role in undermining women, particularly in depicting Jesus’ mission on earth as being dominated by men. Biblically, women’s role in society is staged as mere helpers and subservient to men. She sternly observed the enormous impact the personification of God as a man has had on women since prehistoric times. This imagery has perpetually worked on women’s psych and made the majority of them feel inferior to men, even when available statistics indicate that most of world order rotates around women’s efforts.
And when Speciosa gave way after her presentation, the women leaders ululated in hopeful satisfaction. It was the kind of motivation it could take to spur renewed hope among Burundian and African women for generations to come.
The meeting is attended by other East African Community/COMESA Eminent personalities; Joseph Warioba, former Tanzania Prime Minister, Bethuel Kiplagat from Kenya and NuweAmanyaMushega, former EAC Secretary General.
At the same Roundtable, Ms. Martha Daud Luleka, an international Development Consultant, presented on the “Centrality of women in political processes; Challenges, experiences and lessons from Eastern Africa Region”. Ms. Daud Luleka said among others, that “If you are left out at this stage, there’s no way you’ll catch up. You like it or not, there’s no way you can avoid politics”.
Burundi is only weeks away from the May/June 2015 General and Presidential elections.
L.R Dr. Speciosa Wandira – Kazibwe and Adelin Hatungimana