KIGALI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of women in the Rwandan cabinet has reaches 50 percent following Thursday's cabinet reshuffle made by President Paul Kagame.
They have been assigned to run key ministerial portfolios including ministries of trade and industry; health; ICT and innovation; youth; gender and family promotion; sports and culture; public service and labor; and emergency management.
A higher number of women in decision-making roles lead to a decrease in gender discrimination and gender-based crimes, Kagame told the opening of the 2018/19 Rwanda judicial year on Friday in the capital, Kigali.
He also said men must play an important role in upholding the rights of women.
Emma Marie Bugingo, executive secretary of an umbrella organization of women associations, Pro-Femmes Twese Hamwe, told Xinhua on Friday in a phone interview that women's participation in Rwanda's development "is a good example to disprove the old saying that women can't lead."
"The record 50 percent female representation in the cabinet is a win for the Rwandan government," she said.
The number of members of the cabinet has fallen from 31 to 26 after the reshuffle.
Global Gender Gap Report 2017 of the World Economic Forum ranked Rwanda fourth globally in closing gender-based disparity with a gap of 18 percent.
