Why Rwanda’s UN Win is Important to Girls

In celebration of the 2nd Annual International Day of the Girl, October 11th, Rwanda was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly for its work in support of the post-2015 agenda. Rwanda won the global UN’s My World People’s Choice Award for the distribution of 70,000 My World Surveys in Rwanda this spring.

In late September, Rwandan girls and Ni Nyampinga Brand Representatives, Sifa Mukayuhi and Benigne Mugwaneza Ishimwe accepted the My World award on behalf of the youth of Rwanda. This award is in recognition of the efforts put in by Rwanda to reach as many youth as possible throughout the country, gathering their thoughts and input into what they see as the priorities their government needs to focus on to ensure their future.

Both Mukayuhi and Ishimwe participated in the countrywide survey. According to Ishimwe, “My World is an opportunity for every person to participate in post-2015 and in the decisions that are made at the highest levels. And it’s a chance to focus on the needs of the people, not just the decision-makers. When we were voting, we were voting as girls and for other girls.”

The distribution of the MyWorld surveys in Rwanda was collaboration between Girl Hub Rwanda and UNICEF, along with Peace Corps, Plan Rwanda, and Girl Guides and launched in April 2013. The survey gathered in- and out-of-school youths’ perspectives on priorities for the next set of development goals. The results fed into the final decision-making for the next development agenda. Of the 70,000 surveys distributed throughout Rwanda by Ni Nyampinga ambassadors, 30,000 responses were received of which 55 percent were filled in by girls.

In terms of priority areas, both Mukayuhi and Ishimwe voted for protection against crime and violence, better health care, better job opportunities, and a good education. According to Mukayuhi, ‘When you have better health care, you can have access to other things you need. I voted for better job opportunities because it is important for people to have enough money to cover their needs and for protection against crime and violence, because it is particularly important to girls to feel as though they are in a safe space. Finally, I voted for a good education because when a girl is educated in her home and goes to school, she can contribute to her own life and to her family, her nation and the world.”

Ishimwe added, “It is girls who meet barriers in their lives, especially in terms of education. There are times when a girl does not get the opportunity to study because either her brother is given priority when it comes to school attendance or her family can’t afford school fees so she has to stay at home to help her parents and to find a job. A good education is very important, especially for girls because when she’s educated she can fight against all of the barriers she meets in her life. It helps her improve, to be a better person, and in the future to be a better mother and educate her children, and the improvement of her country.”