ask them what does open heart surgery cost, what are the consequences of a ruined life and lack of fulfilling what you are capable of in life. >> all right. ♪ ♪ welcome to al jazerra america, i am del walters, these reports stories that wore we are following for you. >> it's not right. ain't right. it's not right and it ain't right. >> president obama putting income inequality on certainty stage, calling for equal pay for women. unrest. the west ordering russia not to interfere again. never again, looking back at rwanda's painful past, one survivor's story.

♪ ♪ today is equal payday a day to highlight the gap between what men and women get paid. women having to work this long in 2014 to make what a man already made in 2013. the president signing two executive orders today designed to close the gap for women who work for federal contractors saying this country does not have second-class citizen. >> america should be a level playing field. a fair race for everybody. a place where anybody who is willing to work hard has a chance to get ahead. and retouring that opportunity for every american, men and well, has to be a driving focus for our country. >> now, even when it comes to income disparity, not all women are created equal in louisiana, they are treated worse. robert reyes is in baton rouge, how is the gender pay gap affecting women there?

>> reporter: del, good afternoon. the gender pay gap is a major issue here in the state of louisiana and nationally, as we know, but people here, women and children and families, are losing out on income, their health care is looking on the downturn because of the income gap. from the white house numbers full-time working women earn 70% of full-time male counterparts, the problem is very bad down here, but the challenges are even more intense. according to a study by the center for american progress, louisiana is the worst state for women. from wage gaps to the poverty rate, it leads the pack. >> it's across the entire spectrum from the top university professors, the top women in law firms, the top women in economic firms, and women at the lowest wages too. >> it's really news. >> reporter: valerie say single mother of three, who has been in

search of a job for months. >> look at me, look at mr. so and so, look at my qualifications, look at my college, you know, background, who is best? who would do a better job? that's all i am asking for. >> reporter: with the help of dress for success new orleans, a nonprofit that works with disadvantaged women in their job search, she finally landed employment at a retail shop in the city's french quarter. >> why don't we just try it. >> reporter: and now she's having to help other women toward a better future. >> what happened was what they did for me, i wanted to move forward, you know, pay it forward. >> reporter: according to the center for american progress, women working full-time in louisiana earn over successor we have of what men earn and more than one in five women and girls in the state are living in poverty. >> it's a complex issue, pay and equality is a very complex issue. >> reporter: new orleans native julie is advocating for a change

in state law to his deal with these issues of inequality and to advance the lives of women and children in louisiana. >> it costs the government to subsidize what doeses are not paying for women. the government for lower income women have to subsidize with food stamps, housing subsid diessubsidize.so it costs the ex payers. >> reporter: throw harris is working on the state level, she thinks the national pay check fairness act, a bill written to even the pay check playing field, should become law. and according to supporters of the bilker the pay gap is even more extreme for black women who earn 62-cents for every 1 dollar a man is paid. and for hispanic well, they only earn 54 crepts. valerie feels strongly that more legislate i have progress is needed to change the pick for future generations. >> we have to make a push for

it, we really well. >> reporter: the fact that louisiana's legislature has the lowest number of females in the country could add to not passing the laws here. del, you can see the capital behind me here, there are about seven groups of women in there advocating, legislators, explaining the pay gap and trying to tighten it found a pair playing field. there are 10 bills on the table that they hope that legislators here with look at and pass in to the law. you can also see this postcard a photograph from 60 years ago when this pay equality movement began. while these women are sending 200 of these out to senator david vitter, they want changes here and they want an even playing field here in the deep south. del. >> robber rarobert ray for us ln baton rouge, louisiana. thank you very much, robert. there were several heated exchange today when the secretary of state appeared

before the senate foreign relations committee. second state john kerry saying that russia is trying to destabilize eastern ukraine and it's clear they are behind the latest unrest and he also briefed senators on the latest peace process and iran. libby casey reports. >> reporter: secretary kerry addressed directly concerns, accusation that his russia is playing an active role in trying to destabilize eastern ukraine. >> russia's clear and unmistake am involvement in destabilizing and engaging in separatist activities in the east of ukraine is more than deeply disturbing. no one should be fooled and believe me no one is fooled, by what could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention, just as we saw in crimea. equally clear must be the reality that the united states and our allies will not hesitate to use 21st century tools to hold russia accountable for 19th century behavior.

>> reporter: the secretary of state said ther there will be a meeting in europe between russia, ukrainians and u.s., four-party talks which are significant in the secretary's eyes because it does mean that the ukrainians and the russians can sit at the same table. the way secretary kerry describes the u.s. relationship with russia, he said it's one of consternation and complex, but also at times cooperation in places like afghanistan. there was some push back to the secretary my members of the committee like john mccain, republican of arizona, who referenced that theodore roosevelt quote about how leaders should speak softly and carry a big stick. a excuses the secretary of state of speaking strongly but carrying a small stick in, fact, so small it might as well be a twig. now, when it comes to sear request, members of th syria members want to know what they are thinking. the top member of the g.o.p. on the sen foreign relations panel say they want more specifics from the obama administration

and also wants to have more classified briefings to get more intel about what is coming down the pipe. and frankly what u.s. options are there. another big issue, mideast peace talks. secretary kerry going in to this hearing saying this is a crucial moment, but with both sides, both palestinians and israelis pulling back on some of their earlier agreements, here is how kerry summed up things right now. >> that no other nation can give people the confidence to come together and confront some of the most difficult challenges in the same way as we are privileged. i take it hear it about the middle east peace process. i read some who question why the secretary of state is engaged orin tense and why the united states should be doing this if the parties don't want to do it. the truth is the parties say they want to continue these talks, the parties are still taking to even other other in an effort to see if he can this get over the herd and make it

happen. >> reporter: today's hearing is actually about the budget, about the state department budget, but obviously whenever you get the secretary of state before the foreign relations committee of the u.s. senate they will pepper him with a range of questions, it it wasn't just the middle east, syria, iran being discussed also places like venezuela, a so broad swath of the globe covered in today's hearing. >> libby case foy us on capitol hill. we are following some developing news coming o out of ukraine, officials say that separatists with explosives have now taken several hostages inside a building that they have taken over, kim has the latest. >> reporter: we understand from ukrainian official that his pro-russia people are in control of the state security building there have laid explosive or booby traps of some sort, they are armed with weapon that his they possibly have grenades and that they have taken 60 people hostage some of those we are

told are state security personnel themselves. it's obviously a very delicate situation there obviously pro russian protesters have been in control of this building since sunday. it ever just in the past hour that ukrainian forces tried to move in when this all played out. pro-russia protesters are still in control of the government administration building here. it's a very large building with a couple of hundred protesters insides and they have several lines of barricades right now they are making a human barricade of women out front because they pictures authorities in kiev to order some sort of action this evening. so very much a developing story. we will be here through the night bringing the latest lines as they happen. and that is kim. hav.have innel. jo jordan more than 2,000 youth live in facilities. here is more.

>> reporter: teenagers in jordan can end up a juvenile detention facility like this for simple hurting someone in a fight. mean of these boys never expected to end up here for something minor as that, others didn't expect stealing would land them here either. this is t* he is 14 and hahe iss because he stole money but he did it because a man threatened him. i regret not listening to my father and stealing and the court case. >> reporter: a recent government study revealed alarming figures about the psychological state of juveniles held in detention. the study found that 23% have considered suicide and that 87% have suffered from severe depression. 64% experience severe psychological trauma. this is why the social

development ministry wants parliament to approve a draft law to soften the impact on young people. the proposed juvenile detention draft law suggests substantial changes to the existing laws, including replacing detention sentences with community service as well as increasing the age of criminal accountability from seven to 12. legal experts say these amendments will insure jordan's child protection laws are compatible with international conventions it has signed. 85% of juveniles in detention have been condemned for minor offenses. the minister of social development says they would be better off in school. >> there is a need to look in to the urgency of not did he stricting their school life and therefore the idea of instead of residing in centers, we would go towards programs where there would be behavior changes. >> reporter: most parents of

young offenders agree changes in the law are necessary. >> a child's first mistake should not be punished with prison. my son will learn how to commit misdemeanors and other offenses from bad influences in prison. >> reporter: the government is trying to minimize that influence with amendments to the juvenile detention law which is widely expected to be to be adopted. coming up on al jazerra america, 20 years after one of the worst genocides in history, the people of rwanda threely healing their broken country. their progress and challenges straight ahead.

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more on every screen. digital, mobile, social. visit aljazeera.com. follow @ajam on twitter. and like aljazeera america on facebook for more stories, more access, more conversations. so you don't just stay on top of the news, go deeper and get more perspectives on every issue. al jazeera america. ♪ rwanda is looking back recalling the 20th anniversary of a genocide that left at least 800,000 people dead in that country. mohamed reports. >> reporter: remembering rwanda's dead on the day the brutal and relentless killings

back 20 years ago. the genocide memorial president lights the flame of hope. it will burn for 100 days, the length of time it took government soldiers and militia men to carry out their plan to wipeout ethnic toot is as. thousands of genocide survivors attended at the stadium. the seen had som scene of some t killings during the 1994 genocide. >> to our parents, children, brothers and sisters who survived the rwandas that caused the genocide. it is you who bear the burt of our history.

we have received justice and reparation as best we could, but it does not restore what we lo lost. >> reporter: many survivors were overcome with grief. medical staff had to carry dozens of them out of the stadium while screaming and crying uncontrollable. outside of the events of 1994, rwandas say it's their duty to remember those who died in the genocide. criticizing the international community for the amount of time that they needed the help to stop the genocide is something else they don't shy away from. here they dramatize the events before and after the genocide. they reserve some of the blame for belgium, rwanda's former come my master and france, this was a diplomatic dispute over allegations of french complicity

in the genocide by the preside president. >> the passage of time should not obscure the facts, lessen the responsibility or turn victims in to villains. people cannot be bribed or forced in to changing their history and no country is powerful enough, even when they think they are to change the facts. >> reporter: at least 800,000 people mostly tutsis and some hugh trues were killed in the rwanda genocide and they are now increasing calls for the perpetrators was still at large to face justice. >> how can you expect people to move on with their lives when you see perpetrators walking around freely some of them with

money they looted from this country. >> reporter: mothers killed their children and neighbor turned against neighbor in 100 days of maddening killing. it take along time before this traumatized nation movers on. rwanda. she survived the genocide by hiding in a bathroom with seven other women for three months. she's written several books about the ordeal including the rosary and left to tell discovering god amid the rwandan holocaust. thanks for being with us, i know it's very tough. tell us about your story living in a bathroom for 91 days. what was that like. >> it was hell. it wasn't something that i can really compare to any kind of life. we were in the bathroom on the 8th of april 2 days after the genocide started. with other seven with three by

four feet. the whole time we couldn't speak to each other. the man told us, he won't even tell his children that we were there. so he said be quiet, don't even flush the water of the bathroom unless somebody is flushing. >> we should point out. how many members of your family survived? >> only one brother who was outside of the country. >> out of a family how large? >> two brothers killed, my mom, my dad, grandma, uncle, aunt. it was like the end of the world. >> when did you know that they had died? >> three months later. i kind of suspected it when we were in the bathroom that we hear people talk about people outside this person died who had a master's degree or this man who was a teacher, my dad. and i just accept it. i thought they were making mistakes, i couldn't cry. i didn't have that permission. >> i want to read a quote from your book. you write that i knew in my heart and mind that i would always be tempted to feel anger, to find blame and hate whe but i resolve when the negative

feelings came upon me i wouldn't wait for them to gore owe fester i woulgrow or festeri would turs love and fore giveness protect and save my instead of begging no percent peu. mercy. you say your brother challenged his captors it kill him. how do you forgive? >> forgiveness became like a study and an understanding. so during that time i had anger, anger that was burning in my skin. i would feel sweaty and my heart is running out of anger. so when i started to see on you anger was so bad, i prayed to god. i begged him just make me understand what is going on. how this can be. with people you created. so there is a moment i remember in the bathroom when it came clear that it was almost like the world was created in two parts, there is a part of love -- i mean divided in two parts aircraft part of love and the part of hate. the part of love was mandela,

gaigandhi, mother trees, a peope that don't hate. the side of hate are the people killing. where do you want to be among those who have suffered but who stand up to defend truth, to defends love, or to the ones who kill? >> yesterday we met a woman in a story and she lost an arm to her attacker. and he also slashed her with a machete. she forgave him, they now work side by side. have you met the people who killed your relatives and would you be able to forgive them? >> i did. you know, when the understanding of forgiveness comes is really what happens to you, not to hold the bitterness and to realize the wrong is still wrong and maybe these people still have to go through justice and still have that evil. but when you see them in that state of on poll i didn't you can know and let it go.

i met one person who killed my mom and brother in a prison. and he was still angry and i offered him forgiveness. i remember before he was standing like who cares when i told him i forgive you, and i cried just to see what he did to himself. and to his family by doing what he did. i remember he covered his face think he couldn't look at me. i can feel something came out of him. and another man i met who killed some of my cousins he on pal hed he said i miss people i killed. i don't know how i did it. you see the difference but in my heart there is the understanding. >> souso many religions and cris we see preach an eye for an eye. are you concerned many in the future general generations will look back and demand justice with an eye for an eye? >> no, i truly have confidence and trust in our lead nurse what they are trying to preach and teach people. i think teaching people it was bad and horrible, let's never go

back, every single rue rhonda, tutsi or hutu suffered in some ways, i don't think people want to go back and the leaders are trying to helps people understand that. >> we have had many guests here, very few have so many people lining up to meet you after you leave. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> we'll be right back. [ grunting ]

i'm taking off, but, uh, don't worry. i'm gonna leave the tv on for you. and if anything happens, don't forget about the new xfinity my account app. you can troubleshoot technical issues here. if you make an appointment, you can check out the status here. you can pay the bill, too. but don't worry about that right now. okay. how do i look? ♪ thanks. [ male announcer ] troubleshoot, manage appointments, and bill pay from your phone. introducing the xfinity my account app.

welcome back to al jazerra america, i am del wall territories here are your headlines at this hour. today is equal payday a day to eye height the income gap between men and women and the president signing two executive orders today designed to reduce the pay gap for women who work for federal contractors. there were several heated exchange today when john kenny y appeared before the senate relations committee saying that russia is behind the latest unrest in the ukraine and briefed senators on the middle east peace plan and iran.

ukraine state security services saying pro-russian separatists have placed explosives in a building that they have sees the. seized. those several are now holding hostages. it was take own sunday in a series of attacks. you might wants to take a look outside tonight a chance to see mars lined you directly with the sun and earth and shining more brightly than any other star. the opposition as it is called only occurs once every couple of years. >> meteorologist: opposition is easy to forecast, the weather not so much. we need clear skies tonight. may have it much across much of the country. the rain across the southeast brought severe weather to mississippi two days ago, yesterday tour made owe respected in eastern north carolina, but now the rain just clearing out a bit. the line of severe weather off the coast. it's a front, cold front

bringing in some cooler temperatures, the temperatures going down as the skies begin to clear up. clear up almost completely. there is some rain hanging back here in arkansas that will continue to push east. no severe weather expected with this. just a little spin, little area of low pressure, moving through the region so dropping a little more rain on areas that had some severe weather. maybe an isolated rumble of thunder but not the severe weather we saw yet. it's forecast to continues to push off to the east, line rain over the next 24 hours, beginning to taper off by early tomorrow morning. then we'll talk about the colder temperatures, not feeling like that now, but highs headed for the upper 60s, but look at the cool air coming in down to 50s and 40s behind this rain. which will clear out. that's the front moving through. the rain movers off the coast here comes some cooler air cold enough for pop-up showers and sunshine, that will be it for the rainfall over much of the east turn united states. cooler temperatures from the 40,

you are not one in minneapolis, 47 in billings. denver 51. this is a similar weather pattern that we have seen, storms going up in to canada, down across the great lakes with the cooler temperatures southwest, oh, we need those storms to come in directly off the coast, we are not seeing that so the tree weather continues unfortunately. now we are talking about heat. highs up to about 90 in los angeles. 74 in san francisco. 88 there in south mexico, 95 in phoenix. the warm, dry weather comes here and it's almost hot and temperatures climbing above 90 degrees and no change in the weather pat american the next few days, die unfortunately for areas that do need the moisture. del. >> dave, thank you very much. finally myanmar is going through a transition afternooninafternooning more thl politics. the government is making rare artifacts available for the first time. buddhist relics in new york. from the first millennium are some of the invaluable items on

display. the lost kingdom will be open until the end of july. as for us, we are out of time, thanks for watching al jazerra america, i am del walters in new york, slavery a 24 century evil is up next. and a reminder that you can check us out 24 hours a day at aljazerra.com. >> for 300 years, the most powerful nations on earth grew richer and stronger on the profits of the slave trade. over twelve million men, women and children were forcibly transported from africa on slave ships like this, to the colonies and plantations in north and south america. today slavery is illegal on every country on the planet. but the truth is, slavery did not die in the 19th century. it is alive, it is thriving, and it it is bigger than ever.