Index IntroductionMen and women are equal (essay)ConclusionIntroductionEvery man and woman should have equal rights. This statement is the topic of my essay. A woman is a giver of life. Every single person was carried in the womb for nine months, delivered by a woman, most often breastfed, carried for comfortable sleep like a baby, clothed and fed by a woman. Indeed, a person could not do anything without his mother, the one who gave him life. Therefore, it is a real shame that the same women who gave people life are often not entrusted with managing the environment in which their children grow up. Many developing countries in Africa and some Arab states still have gender inequalities today, especially for women. Women are denied access to land, cannot inherit their spouse's property, cannot access financial services, are removed from leadership roles and even do not have equal access to education as men. Women and girls represent more than 50% of the world's population. Neglecting them will not make the world successful. Countries that empower women and ensure gender equality have been shown to have achieved extraordinary results in terms of productivity and economic growth (United Nations, 2019). As the Rwandan proverb says “A bird could not fly without two wings”. This means that the world cannot achieve success without cooperation and equal rights between men and women. We were created with the same skills and abilities. A man has no superpower over a woman that could make a woman deny herself from doing what she wants. Therefore, it is unfair that there is still prejudice against women based only on their gender. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayMen and women are equal (essay)In many African countries, many forms of prejudice and stereotypes that humiliate women still exist. These stereotypes or beliefs exclude women from several careers, especially those that require physical strength and mental ability. Women cannot become engineers, mechanics and many other jobs that require strength. This myth came from African cultures as each gender had its role in the community. Both men and women were involved in finding and providing food, but they had different roles. Men went hunting and looked for firewood while women cooked food, fetched and cared for children (Dipio,2008). This shows that men doing things that required strength had their origins in history. This is what makes it difficult to change the status quo as many people refer to their own culture and exclude women from jobs that require strength. They cannot even engage in leadership, business and other careers that require intelligence. Men took advantage of this as these types of jobs are the profitable ones nowadays. So, these gender roles are unfair to women as they are unable to do gainful jobs. This causes women in some developing countries to have no success at all. Finding a successful woman in this kind of countries is "rare", because they were not privileged. In some African communities, girls were not valued at all. Giving birth to a girl was taken as nothing or girls were not counted in the count of children in a family. “In a community called 'Madi folktales', a dad valued his cock more than he valued his daughter Lia and recklessly might sacrifice her in an attempt totake revenge for the disappearance of his cock” (Dipio, 2008). This shows how women were disrespected many years ago. Women of some tribes were not even given freedom of speech, their opinions were not taken into consideration (ibid). But should people who have origins in these cultures continue to have old myths? These people should not continue to rely on past injustices committed against women to not give women the rights they deserve as our mothers. While most of many African and other developing countries still have gender inequalities, some are making changes and placing a lot of emphasis on the advancement of women. I am happy to be from one of these few countries which is Rwanda. It is a small country that has had a bad history, where over eight hundred thousand people were killed in the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994 and the country's economy and infrastructure were completely destroyed. When the genocide ended, women took control of the country. Before the genocide, women were limited from using or accessing opportunities found outside their homes. They had to stay at home and take care of the family and were juniors compared to their husbands. In the post-genocide period, women carried the burden of reconstruction on their shoulders. To empower women, a new Constitution was adopted in 2003 requiring all government institutions to have at least 30% of their employees be women. Twenty-five years after this tragic story, women now work in industries and are involved in policies that were once reserved only for men (Behnke,2019). Rwanda is one of the countries that has many women involved in politics. It has the highest percentage of women in parliament, 61%, and 50% of the cabinet are women (Karuhanga, 2019). This is all due to having a government that cares about women and gave them opportunities because it knew what women are capable of doing. Many programs have been launched in the country to support women especially on an intellectual and social level. The Imbuto Foundation is a non-governmental organization established in 2001 under the Office of the First Lady of Rwanda. Initially, it began as an organization that provided a holistic approach to women infected with HIV/AIDS during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Subsequently, she launched numerous programs and initiatives that empower women and support young Rwandan girls. In 2005, a program called the Campaign for the Promotion of Girls' Education (PGEC) was launched. This program funded and awarded scholarships to young Rwandan girls to reduce the knowledge gap between boys and girls. This has reduced the number of girls who dropped out of school and increased the number of intellectual women (Fondazione Imbuto, 2019). This is not the only program launched in Rwanda to empower and advance girls. President Kagame's government has sought to eradicate gender inequality and empower women by educating and preparing them for leadership roles. “The government is investing heavily in programs aimed at increasing girls' enrollment rates in ICT education and women's involvement in technology such as: WEMTECH (Women Empowerment in Technology), the flagship program of the Smart Rwanda Master Plan (2015- 2020) and the Girls in ICT program, among others” (HeForShe). The Government of Rwanda is also promoting and motivating girls to enroll in technical and vocational training to promote employment opportunities for women. Respecting women's health by fighting gender violence is also one of the priorities of the Rwandan government. Many women have been raped and mentally abused across the country..