Smashing Patriarchy!

 I am an emerging leader and a feminist working with the Resource Center for Women and Girls, in Machakos. I grew up in a community where girls faced many challenges and throughout my early life, I always wanted to change this reality for me and other young girls who faced similar challenges.  The difficult thing about being in such a position was getting a platform that would help amplify my voice in a very patriarchal society.

Working with the Resource Center for Women and Girls offered that platform for me. So many opportunities opened up for me including attending the Feminist Leadership Institute in 2011 hosted by Young Women’s Leadership Institute. The leadership institute was an eye opener for me and through some of the lessons learnt and unlearnt in that institute, I have become a better leader. I joined a political party and I am always interested in listening to and criticising any decisions our government makes involving women especially through the Young Women’s Leadership Institute’s platform.

I am in my final year in the University of Nairobi pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Philosophy and it is fascinating to see how patriarchal   previous scholars in the academic world were, with very little to read about ancient women scholars, although I’m happy to note that is currently changing.

 I am currently involved in a social change project that collects and distributes sanitary towels to girls in rural Nairobi who drop out of school due to lack of sanitary towels. I am also in the process of partnering with Single Mothers ‘Association of Kenya who sell re-usable sanitary towels and train women on maintaining hygiene during their menses. This is a project I am passionate about because it is very heart breaking to see a young girl with so much potential  missing school every month for 7days due to lack of sanitary towels, and this same girl, given the opportunity could excel in her society, which means less teenage pregnancies, better opportunities for her and reduced poverty levels.

Working with young girls and women is a passion I regard dearly. This is because it is quite evident that given an opportunity and with resources availed to them; women do bring about positive change in society. Women’s challenges are very similar all over the world and their resilience and zeal to overcome them inspires me and makes my passion for my work grow to greater heights.

Getting linked to the Young Women’s Leadership Institute was a golden opportunity for me. I was still new to leadership and feminist related matters and it is through YWLI that I was able to understand better that being a leader in my own way through different projects and assignments leads to many positive changes in the society for me as an individual and for my fellow young women.

I got to expand my network through meeting different young feminists who are promoting social justice in their societies. I learnt and unlearnt in the process and got involved directly and indirectly with different activities through the broad networks I gained from YWLI’s trainings and activities.

YWLI has been a big part in my growth as a leader and I am happy to be able to transfer my skills to the beneficiaries of our Resource Center for Women and Girls program through various activities and also directly through linking some of them to attend the trainings organized by YWLI.

I call myself a feminist because of my attitude and approach towards patriarchy. Patriarchy makes me Mad!! and I don’t understand why in very many parts of the world, women remain oppressed and are treated as inferior either through culture or government practices which do not favour them, while on the other hand when I look at different women even in their small ways, I see so much untapped potential.

It is quite evident that women are usually in the forefront of many changes and developments in the society yet the opportunities availed to them are very limited. Even in the current changing world, we still see some harmful practices intended to intimidate women in their leadership roles especially those in government positions.

Feminism has always been in existence, silently, even during the ancient and medieval times. We still have a long way to go; I can confidently say that the far we have come, it has taken some strong feminists to pave the way for us.

In future, I want to be among the loudest feminists in not only Africa, but also the world. I want  young girls by then to have feminist core values inscribed in them because, it is the feminist values which awaken the inner untapped potential of young girls to fight for their rights and to break free from the shackles of oppression by male dominated societies.

I would like to encourage young women to be the change! Change the world.

By

Ivy Nyawira

Young Women's Leadership Institute (YWLI) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or YWLI please follow the links below.
www.iie.org/
www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 
www.ywli.org 

“It is possible to bring change by working hard starting from small in one’s own country”

I was born in 1986 in the western part of Ethiopia called Jimma in a village called Telu.  I am the 5^th child for my parents. My upbringing was full of hardships.  My cousin brought me to the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa promising to send me to school where I used to work during the day and attend school in the evening.  When I reached to the point where I could no longer handle the heavy workload, I went away to live with my uncle.

I got good education until my uncle died of illness and started to live with my relatives but since I couldn’t handle the hardship and pain, I was forced to withdraw from school on 10^th grade and decided to go outside of Ethiopia for work.  Assisted by a friend, I travelled to the Middle East in 1998 without consulting my relatives. I didn’t fine the country as comfortable to live in as I expected it would be. Everything turned out to be very difficult and horrible; I even became a victim of attempted rape.  I started to live in a place the agency of domestic workers assigned me to live at without a wage from my first employers for one year.  The household members I have been assigned to work for on my second employment kept me locked inside a house for three consecutive days without food when they went away. This dried and cracked my throat and thus, I couldn’t eat when they offer me food when they returned.  I started to easily get tired since I worked without food. One time, the mother of my employer saw me crying and sent me away to work for another household.

Working for the third household, nothing got better.  I used to cry bitterly when things went beyond my control.  I called for the agency of domestic workers to inform them of my problems with a help of a translator since I could not speak their language.   The agency had been taking my pay when this was happening to me.  I worked for four years without enough sleep.   My employers used to tell me that they would get me a two way airline ticket so that I could visit my family and continue working for them upon return. In 2002, they finally sent me back to Addis Ababa with just a luggage without paying me my salary for the four years of labor.

I got married after I returned from the Middle East and worked with my husband who was an owner of an advertisement company.  Then my husband and I got separated due to conflicts between us.  After the separation, I decided to go back to the Middle East once again but my application was rejected because I was pregnant.  I finally gave birth after a miserable pregnancy.  I started taking care of my child with the money I earned by washing clothes and doing various types of jobs. One time, a member of the organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE) who saw me washing clothes advised me to become a member of WISE.  I agreed and got registered at the organization around the end of the year 2011. Subsequently, I received various trainings that changed my life.  I was able to understand how to start one’s own employment with little money and grow to a higher level.  I maintained a hopeful outlook on that I could make a difference.

Since I was skilled at weaving, I started weaving after buying  sponge and layers of fabric with the first round of loan I took from my cooperative at WISE which was 1,000 Birr ($59).  My capital has now increased from 1,000 Birr ($59) to 7,000 Birr ($412). I won the 2^nd place prize for the new and viable business ideas competition arranged by WISE for making gloves and bandages using the by-products from factories which awarded me with additional 1,000 Birr ($59). I began to work from my own shop with the loom I bought with the award money and also purchased a sewing machine with my own money. My products have a high demand in the market. I was able to attract a lot of customers by applying what I have learned. I now know how to manage customers because I have received the marketing training course. I am currently eligible for the 3^rd round of loan and have a good sum of money in my savings.

I am a member of a Cooperative called ‘TsinaKirkos’. I don’t have any committee responsibility in my Cooperative.   However, I do my best on my own initiative to increase the savings and credit limits of my Cooperative. I have plans to build my own manufacturing factory in the future. The most important message I want to convey, especially for my sisters who want to go abroad to the Middle East, is that we should build our own business, or do a particular job by thinking big and starting small before we decide to travel and work in the Middle East countries, making our lives miserable.  We can work in our country with freedom by starting small and growing into being something big gradually.  I got to where I am today by starting with a 1,000 Birr ($59) investment. I am confident that I can work even harder and become bigger.

AbenetKidane, TsinaKirkos Savings and Credit Cooperative

Kirkos Sub-city

Women in Self Employment (WISE) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership Program run by the Institute of Intenrational Education (IIE), Ethiopia Office 

For more on IIE , ACE or WISE please follow the links below.

 www.iie.org/

www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 

www.wise.org.et/