Rwanda female MPs 'pioneers' in gender equality

Rwanda is a leading example of what women can do if they are in positions of power, the executive director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, told BBC Africa.

The former deputy president of South Africa - who was one of the key speakers at the Girl Summit co-hosted in London earlier this week by Unicef and the UK government - said she was optimistic about the initiatives taken by some African countries.

She told the BBC's Kim Chakanetsa that some of the changes which have taken place in Rwanda in terms of health and education are linked to the fact that 64% of parliamentarians are women - the highest such proportion in the world.