United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in Rwanda, Dr. Fatmata, has praised Rwanda’s achievements in gender equality, saying the country’s progress goes beyond increasing the number of women in leadership positions.
She made the remarks on May 21, 2026, during a dialogue organized by the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum focusing on gender equality, leadership responsibilities, and gender-responsive budgeting under Rwanda’s NST2 development program.
Dr. Fatmata said Rwanda’s transformation over the past three decades is one of the world’s most remarkable stories in promoting women’s participation in governance. She noted that women occupied only 23% of parliamentary seats after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, while today Rwanda leads the world in female parliamentary representation.
According to her, the true success lies not in statistics alone, but in how women’s leadership has changed governance and improved citizens’ wellbeing.
