Burundi human rights minister and UN Women representative in Burundi have said there are different texts, conventions and resolutions that can serve as tools for women empowerment and eradication of gender based violence. However, these tools are unknown to many women leaders.
Martin Nivyabandi: “Even women leaders have no knowledge of the tools for women empowerment”
Martin Nivyabandi, minister of human rights says it is deplorable to see that many women and even leaders do not know about those instruments which ought to help them. “They are Resolution 1325, an agenda set up by a coalition of Burundian women, a national policy on gender …Some women leaders are not aware of such texts as the resolutions and other national or international conventions which promote women and help them avoid gender based violence,” he says.
Nivyabandi says most of those tools are in foreign languages. This blocks the sensitization as it is difficult to sensitize people with a document which is written in French or English while the audience does not understand either of the two languages.
He says the ministry in partnership with UN Women is going to translate five important tools into Kirundi language.
Jennet Kem, the representative of UN women in Burundi, says her organization is eager to collaborate with the ministry of human rights for the promotion of women. “The ministry helped to establish priorities for Burundian women. There are documents that are going to be translated into Kirundi so as to reach and be understood by a big number of women,” she says.
She also says she will make sure those tools are clear, engaging and concise. “I want all women to get involved in gender based violence eradication and I will be happy to praise the province that will be the first next year,” she says.
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