Media Release:
RAUW calls for women to be more involved in Sports

16 June 2008

Julienne Mukandekezi, Vice President of the National Olympics and Sports Committee of Rwanda spoke on women and sports to participants at a recent RAUW meeting.

She called on RAUW members to become more involved in sport. “As women of influence in society and governance in Rwanda we have an obligation to put policies in place to respond to the needs of female athletes”, she said.

Julienne Mukandekezi, Vice President of the National Olympics and Sports

Ms Mukandekezi requested the RAUW member representatives of different institutions, to voluntarily support the promotion, training and participation of women in and through sports at all levels in clubs and in national federations.

“Each one of us should support the team in her area, serve it and give it her friendship,” she said. “We have the mission as women to convince society that sports have to be accessible to all women”.

Another RAUW member present at the gathering, Senator Beatrice Mukabaranga, supported these comments. She said that from her own experience she could say that playing sports gives women self confidence. “In addition, playing sports in teams assists Rwandans to achieve peace and reconciliation, as people from many different backgrounds strategise together to achieve success”, Senator Beatrice said.

Senator Beatrice Mukabaranga

Ms Mukandekezi said that female athletes are still poorly represented in Rwanda where the cultural traditions prevent their advancement. Three women athletes of six sportspeople will represent our country in Beijing in August 2008.

She said that sport is a social force that has an important impact on the condition of women and on society in general. However, cultural conditions often present us from advancing in this area.

There are many sports in Kigali that we can choose, just depending on what we like, for example, gymtonic in Amahoro Stadium, Nyamirambo Xaveri and at Kimisagara. There are 14 female volley ball teams, athletics at Primature in Kimihurura. and swimming at the Novotel, Cercle Sportif, La Palisse, Nyarutaraema Tennis Club, Mille Collines, Kibuye-Gisenyi at Lake Kivu

Ms Mukandekezi described the background to the Olympics, saying that the first Olympic Games took place in the year 776 before Christ, and in 1896 it was the first time that the modern Olympic Games were inaugurated.

In 1995 the President of the International Olympic Committee made a proposal for a working group on Women in Sports and in 2004 this Committee was called the Commission of CIO, Femmes and Sport. This International Olympic Committee made efforts to promote the participation of women at the Olympic Games and in practical sports. In 2004, 40.6 percent of participants in the Olympic Games in Greece were women.

The Olympic movement and the sports world in general is convinced that sports should be more accessible to women. The goal of the Olympic vision is to make sports everywhere serve the development of harmony between human beings in order to encourage the existence of a peaceful society.

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