Rwanda unveils gender-balanced cabinet with 50 percent women
Almost two thirds of the East African nation MPs are female
Rwanda has become the second African nation in a week to announce a gender-balanced Cabinet with 50 per cent of its members women.
The east African nation announced that women now make up half of the slimmed-down, 26-seat Cabinet.
It joins a handful of countries, mostly European, where women make up 50 percent or more of ministerial positions, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union and United Nations (UN) Women.
The country has received international recognition for female representation in government, with women making up 61 percent of parliament members.
Ethiopia's move this week was the latest in a series of dramatic political and economic reforms under prime minister Abiy Ahmed, who took office in April.
Mr Abiy reportedly told politicians that women are less corrupt than men.
"A higher number of women in decision-making roles have led to a decrease in gender discrimination and gender-based crimes," Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said on Friday in remarks to judicial officials.
World news in pictures
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World news in pictures
1/50 22 March 2019
An aerial view shows damaged buildings after an explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng in China's eastern Jiangsu province. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered local governments to prevent any more industrial disasters after a chemical plant blast left 47 people dead, injured hundreds and flattened an industrial park in the latest such catastrophe to hit the country
AFP/Getty
2/50 21 March 2019
A child is transported on a fridge during floods after Cyclone Idai, in Buzi, outside Beira, Mozambique
Reuters
3/50 20 March 2019
Indian Hindu devotees are sprayed with coloured water as they celebrate the Holi festival at the Kalupur Swaminarayan Temple, in Ahmedabad. Holi, the popular Hindu spring festival of colours is observed in India at the end of the winter season on the last full moon of the lunar month
AFP/Getty
4/50 19 March 2019
Shards of ice pile up on Lake Michigan along the South Haven Pier
Kalamazoo Gazette/AP
5/50 18 March 2019
Emergency services stand at the 24 Oktoberplace in Utrecht where a shooting took place. Several people were wounded on a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht, with local media reporting counter-terrorism police at the scene. "Shooting incident... Several injured people reported. Assistance started," the Utrecht police Twitter account said. "It is a shooting incident in a tram. Several trauma helicopters have been deployed to provide help."
AFP/Getty
6/50 17 March 2019
Coffins of victims of the crashed accident of Ethiopian Airlines are gathered during the mass funeral at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The crash of Flight ET 302 minutes into its flight to Nairobi on March 10 killed 157 people onboard and caused the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft model involved in the disaster
AFP/Getty Images
7/50 16 March 2019
Brenton Tarrant, the man charged in relation to the Christchurch massacre, makes a sign to the camera during his appearance in the Christchurch District Court. A right-wing extremist who filmed himself rampaging through two mosques in the quiet New Zealand city of Christchurch killing 49 worshippers appeared in court on a murder charge. Australian-born 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant appeared in the dock wearing handcuffs and a white prison shirt, sitting impassively as the judge read a single murder charge against him. A raft of further charges are expected
AFP/Getty
8/50 15 March 2019
An injured person is loaded into an ambulance following a shooting at the Al Noor mosque in New Zealand. At least 49 people have been killed and dozens more are seriously injured after shootings took place at two mosques in Christchurch. Police have arrested an Australian citizen – a 28-year-old man – and another three people, following the second shooting
Reuters
9/50 14 March 2019
Relatives of crash victims mourn and grieve at the scene where the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed shortly after takeoff on Sunday killing all 157 on board, south-east of Addis Ababa. The French air accident investigation authority said that it will handle the analysis of the black boxes retrieved from the crash site and they have already arrived in France but gave no time frame on how long the analysis could take
AP
10/50 13 March 2019
Men carry a child who was rescued at the site of a collapsed building containing a school in Lagos, Nigeria
Reuters
11/50 12 March 2019
A crab stuck in plastic in Verde Island Passage, Philippines. According to data from the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Filipinos dispose 163 million pieces of single-use plastic sachets daily. An underwater exploration conducted by Greenpeace in Batangas, found single-use plastic sachets between, beneath, and on the corals and seabed of Verde Island Passage, the epicenter of marine biodiversity in the world
EPA
12/50 11 March 2019
Representatives of bereaved families from the affected prefecture offer flowers at an altar for victims of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster during the 8th national memorial service in Tokyo on. On March 11, 2011 a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.
AFP/Getty
13/50 10 March 2019
South Sudanese Catholic faithful believers attend a church service in Udier town
AFP/Getty
14/50 9 March 2019
Activists of Ukrainian nationalist parties scuffle with police officers during a rally to demand an investigation into the corruption of Ukraine's armed forces officials, in Kiev
Reuters
15/50 8 March 2019
Algerian protesters demonstrate against their ailing president's bid for a fifth term in power, in Algiers
AFP/Getty
16/50 7 March 2019
French gendarmes arrive for evacuation as prison guards block the entrance to the penitentiary center of Alencon, in Conde-sur-Sarthe, northwestern France, two days after a prison inmate seriously wounded two guards in a knife attack before being detained in a police raid. - The prison of Alencon / Conde-sur-Sarthe, where two guards were seriously stabbed on March 5 by a radicalized detainee, was blocked again on March 7 by about a hundred prison guards.
AFP/Getty
17/50 6 March 2019
Hindu devotees participate in a traditional activity known locally as "Perang Api" or fire war one day ahead of Nyepi in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara. Devotees in Indonesia will celebrate Nyepi day or the "Day of Silence" on March 7, the first day of the Saka Lunar calendar
AFP/Getty
18/50 5 March 2019
Time exposure photo shows a series of lightning strikes over Santa Barbara seen from Stearns Wharf in the city's harbor. The storm soaked California and could trigger mudslides in wildfire burn areas where thousands of residents are under evacuation orders, authorities warned
Santa Barbara County Fire Department/AP
19/50 4 March 2019
Members of Unidos da Tijuca samba school perform during the first night of Rio's Carnival at the Sambadrome
AFP/Getty
20/50 3 March 2019
The SpaceX team in Hawthorne watches as the SpaceX Crew Dragon docks with the International Space Station's Harmony module. SpaceX's new crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, acing its second milestone in just over a day
Nasa/AP
21/50 2 March 2019
US Senator Bernie Sanders (centre) waves to supporters at a rally to kick off his 2020 US presidential campaign, in the Brooklyn borough of New York
AFP/Getty
22/50 1 March 2019
Destroyed and deserted buildings are seen at the scene of ongoing fighting between Somali soldiers and al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu, Somalia. Somali security forces have been exchanging gunfire with gunmen holed up in a building since previous night when a suicide car bomb exploded nearby
EPA
23/50 28 February 2019
Activists of Al-Badr Mujahideen burn an effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian national flag during an anti-India protest in Peshawar on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Indians to "stand as a wall" with anger boiling over Pakistan's capture of a pilot as a crisis escalates between the nuclear-armed rivals. In his first remarks since India and Pakistan both claimed to have shot down each other's fighter planes near the disputed border of Kashmir, the prime minister urged his countrymen to unite "as the enemy seeks to destabilise India
AFP/Getty
24/50 27 February 2019
US President Donald Trump (left) shakes hands with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un following a meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi
AFP/Getty
25/50 26 February 2019
An Indian paramilitary solider fires tear gas shell towards Kashmiri protesters in Srinagar. They were protesting against raids on key separatist leaders by Indian intelligence officers
AP
26/50 25 February 2019
US President Donald Trump speaks at the 2019 White House Business Session with Our Nation's Governors in the State Dining Room. Trump spoke about the Chinese trade deal, the proposed border wall, and his upcoming summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un
EPA
27/50 24 February 2019
Rami Malek (left) winner of Best Actor in a Leading Role award for 'Bohemian Rhapsody, Olivia Colman (second left) winner of Best Actress for 'The Favourite,' Mahershala Ali (right) winner of Best Supporting Actor for 'Green Book,' and Regina King (second right) winner of Best Supporting Actress for 'If Beale Street Could Talk,' pose during the 91st Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood
EPA
28/50 23 February 2019
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido gather to take part in a rally in Caracas, Venezuela braced for a showdown between the military and regime opponents at the Colombian border on Saturday, when self-declared acting president Juan Guaido has vowed humanitarian aid would enter his country despite a blockade
AFP/Getty
29/50 22 February 2019
A worker walks amongst piles of rubbish at a garbage dump in Blang Bintang, near Banda Aceh
AFP/Getty
30/50 21 February 2019
Firefighters at the scene of a fire in Dhaka. At least 69 people have died in a huge blaze that tore through apartment buildings also used as chemical warehouses in an old part of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, fire officials said
AFP/Getty
31/50 20 February 2019
Children ride in the back of a truck that is part of a convoy evacuating hundreds out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants, in Baghouz, eastern Syria. The evacuation signals the end of a week long standoff and opens the way to US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces recapture of the territory
AP
32/50 19 February 2019
Bangladeshi Muslim devotees leave by train after taking part in the Akheri Munajat, or final prayers, at the Biswa Ijtema in Tongi. Several million Muslim devotees from around the world join the four-day long event that ends with a special prayer on the final day
AFP/Getty
33/50 18 February 2019
Flames and smoke billows from a residential building where militants are suspected to have taken refuge during a gun battle in Pulwama, south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Tensions continued to rise in the aftermath of a suicide attack in disputed Kashmir, with seven people killed Monday in a gunbattle that broke out as Indian soldiers scoured the area for militants.
AP
34/50 17 February 2019
People walk down the Champs-Elysees avenue on February protest, called by the yellow vest (gilets jaunes) movement, against French President's policies and top-down style of governing, high cost of living, government tax reforms and for more "social and economic justice."
AFP/Getty
35/50 16 February 2019
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) assault's overall commander Jia Furat (C) answers the press near the Omar oil field in the eastern Syrian Deir Ezzor province. Kurdish-led forces said they were holding up the announcement of final victory over the Islamic State group for "a few days" because the large number of civilians remaining on the battlefield had forced a delay.
AFP/Getty
36/50 15 February 2019
Demonstrators overturn a car during a protest against the attack on a bus that killed 44 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in south Kashmir on Thursday, in Jammu
Reuters
37/50 14 February 2019
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama reacts as ink is thrown at him by members of the opposition during parliamentary session in Tirana
Reuters
38/50 13 February 2019
A man cleans a car from snow during a snowfall in Moscow, Russia
Reuters
39/50 12 February 2019
A general view shows the Hotel Arpit Palace after a fire broke out on its premises in New Delhi. At least 17 people died on February 12 as a fire tore through the budget hotel in Delhi before dawn, in the latest disaster to raise concerns over fire safety in India.
AFP/Getty
40/50 11 February 2019
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a leader of India's main opposition Congress party and sister of the party president Rahul Gandhi, greets her supporters from atop a vehicle during a roadshow in Lucknow, India,
Reuters
41/50 10 February 2019
Female artists dominated the Grammys with Alicia Keys opening the show up by inviting her “sisters” Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Michelle Obama and Jada Pinkett Smith onto the stage. “Every voice we hear deserves to be honoured and respected,” said Pinkett Smith. “Tonight we celebrate the greatest in each other, through all of us, through music,” added Alicia Keys. “Who runs the world?” The most notable female triumph was Cardi B’s. The only woman in her category, competing against Nipsey Hussle, Pusha T, Travis Scott and Mac Miller, Cardi won Best Rap Album for her playfully inventive debut Invasion of Privacy. This made her the first female solo artist in history to win in the category
Reuters
42/50 9 February 2019
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren arrives to announce her candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination at Everett Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts
EPA
43/50 8 February 2019
Thai Raksa Chart Party leader Preechapol Pongpanich (C-L) submits the election registration form to an officer at the Election Commission in Bangkok, Thailand. A political party linked with Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai Raksa Chart Party nominated Princess Ubolratana Mahidol, elder sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as prime minister candidate for the upcoming general election. Thailand is set to hold a general election on 24 March 2019, the first poll in five years since the May 2014 military coup.
EPA
44/50 7 February 2019
Technicians set up material and work on the western section of the remains of the Morandi bridge in Genoa on the eve of the official start of the demolition work
AFP/Getty
45/50 6 February 2019
Rescue workers and people try to remove debris of an eight-story building which collapsed in Istanbul which killed at least one person and trapped several others inside the rubble, Turkish media reports said
AP
46/50 5 February 2019
For many President Trump's State of the Union address was overshadowed by Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's applause after his call for political unity, which many interpreted as "sarcastic"
AFP/Getty
47/50 4 February 2019
Thousands of Hindu devotees take dips at Sangam, the confluence of three sacred rivers the Yamuna, the Ganges and the mythical Saraswati, on Mauni Amavsya or the new moon day, the most auspicious day during the Kumbh Mela or the Pitcher Festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh state, India. The Kumbh Mela is a series of ritual baths by Hindu sadhus, or holy men, and other pilgrims at Sangam that dates back to at least medieval times. Pilgrims bathe in the river believing it cleanses them of their sins and ends their process of reincarnation. The event, which UNESCO added to its list of intangible human heritage in 2017, is the largest congregation of pilgrims on earth. Some 150 million people are expected to attend this year's Kumbh, which runs through early March
AP
48/50 3 February 2019
Tom Brady celebrates after New England Patriots won Super Bowl LIII against the Los Angeles Rams at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
USA TODAY Sports
49/50 2 February 2019
Venezuelan opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido waves to supporters during a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela
Reuters
50/50 1 February 2019
Palestinians perform Friday prayers as smoke rises from burning tires during a protest against Jewish settlements, in al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
AFP/Getty
That does not mean men should not be involved, the president said.
"But you must play an important role in upholding the rights of women," he added.
Press Association
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