My name is Dinah and this is my story….

I grew up in Nairobi, lived in langata for the better part of my childhood years and still live in langata. We are a family of five. I have two brothers whom I love dearly. One is in form four the other is in his first year of a foundation course.

Growing up I loved reading to this day I still love to read. I loved the big old novels with very tiny font; those took a while to finish and were much more interesting. I loved swimming and was very good at it can’t say am still good at it I have not been at it for a while.  I was loud as a child I am still loud, I was strong willed and always spoke my mind. I still have more of those characteristics and I believe they are my best qualities.

I was not really good at math but really good in English and history. Those were my favorite subjects, I guess mostly,because I found reading much easier than calculating and figuring out how to use formulas.  Even as I progressed to high school, my strengths included English and history to this day in my opinion you haven’t been taught English unless you were taught by Mrs. Omollo my high school English teacher.

I am currently pursuing a bachelor degree in law at the University of Nairobi School of Law. I have just completed my fourth year exams.  Growing up I was very passionate about the law( I was and still am a very good public speaker) I especially loved arguing out my points more so when I knew I was right and the other person was wrong.  It is from my primary school experience that can say that my passion for the law was cultivated. I was in Loreto Convent Msongari primary school.  I was in a class full of girls whom to this day I believe are some of the greatest minds in this country. Each day my classmates positively challenged me, they challenged me to improve my grades, they challenged me to read more, to accumulate more knowledge and to learn new “big” English words so that I would use them the next day in class, just to seem even if it was for one day, as the brightest student in class but that was quickly short lived because the next day someone else would come having learnt a new word. On the plus side law does not have that much math it was a win win situation.

I would say I love studying law because I believe without the law society as it is right now would be in a state of anarchy. I believe that the law brings about order in society and instills a need for responsibility. I also do believe that the law has the power to bring about significant change in the society. I would love to be part of this change and not only be a part of it but also play an active role in ensuring that laws that will have a positive impact on society are enacted. This fueled my need to explore inter-sexuality as my thesis topic.  Through the law the rights of minorities can be championed. For me inter-sex individuals in Kenya are a minority group whose fundamental human rights have been violated and continue to be violated.  Intersexuality is not a unique phenomenon, it is not a disability and it is not a disease that requires to be corrected. I believe that by conducting research into this area I will be able to bring to light the plight of intersex individuals in Kenya and also suggest legal reforms that are long overdue that will enable the legal recognition of intersex individuals in Kenya. The journey has not been easy but I have been able to complete my thesis and I hope to build on it n future. I am not only passionate on issues affecting minority groups but also human rights issues and issues affecting women in Africa more so sexual reproductive health issues.

My experience at YWLI has been an eye opening and educational experience which I was very fortunate and grateful to have had. I learnt a lot on issues surrounding sexual reproductive health that affect women in Kenya. Through YWLI I was able to conduct research into the area of abortion. For me abortion has been a very grey area, for me it has always been a conflict between morality and fundamental human rights. Form YWLI I was afforded the opportunity to conduct an offline survey and also to deduce several findings from the survey. Firstly  that abortion is an issue of fundamental human rights more than morality and secondly that the law as it is, is patriarchal in nature and as such does not adequately and effectively address the issues affecting women.  My time at YWLI was also a learning experience I learnt how to conduct and compile research.  I was also able to make valuable connections with persons who would assist me with my thesis. All in all my experience at YWLI was a very valuable experience that i feel very fortunate and proud to have had.

I am a proud feminist. It took me a while to get to that point of appreciating feminism. My experience at YWLI helped me appreciate feminism and to be proud to be one. As such I will leave you with a quote by one of my favorite authors Jane Austen, for me this quote encapsulates the struggle and the journey  of feminism , equality and equity .

“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” 

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 

Domitilla: The making of a community leader

Domitilla Mukanganza is a community leader in Kagugu Sector, Gasabo District, City of Kigali. She is also the head of her women’s cooperative. Her story finds genesis in domestic violence on her path to becoming a community leader.

Domitilla could only bear one child, and for this had to suffer humiliation and physical violence at the hands of her husband who found her worthless in her “infertility”.

It matters little that the beatings began in 2006, over 20 years after she gave birth to her son in 1985.

The battery started after her husband had been away from home for three days, and after Domitilla wanted to know where he had been, not seeming to care whether the family had eaten while he had been away.

For four years the physical and emotional violence continued all this while being reminded that she could not bear him more children.

In 2009, matters got out of hand after the husband took a hoe and hit her on the head, leaving her with a deep cut that needed medical attention. But when Domitilla reported the matter to the Police with help of concerned neighbours, her husband was held in the cells for only a few hours and released without charge.

It was around this time she came to know about Rwanda Women’s Network, to whom she poured her problems and received sympathy, and especially the safe space where she received counseling and group support.

Domitilla recalls the initial assistance she received to store her bean harvest at RWN premises away from her husband to prevent his selling them to get drunk. And, to supplement her income, she received training in weaving mats, bedcovers and other artifacts through Hope Cooperative, a socio-economic support group at RWN that found market in places as far as the United States of America.

While being able to earn steady income was empowering, she says it is the training she received on women’s rights – that women have equal rights as men – that would pave the way to who she is today.

Before she received the training in women rights, of which she is now a community paralegal, she did not believe she could stand for herself or speak before people.

But she gained in confidence and became more assertive, so that her husband and community took notice and began to give her respect.

She also gained weight. From 40 kilogrammes, she is much healthier and now weighs 63 – the right weight for her size.

As she gained her weight and confidence, she noticed how people around her were paying more attention when she spoke. She began being called to solve domestic issues as her advice was sought to maintain harmony in her community.

This led to her being elected head of her cooperative group of 30 members that engages in various socio-economic activities.

She is now a community leader in Gicikiza, her Umudugudu (village), where she is overseeing the monthly community activities (Umuganda) that also provide a forum to discuss issues affecting the community. She is also in charge of efforts in her village against gender-based violence where women and children are involved.

Domitilla has since reconciled with her husband and is today a grandmother of four, with whom she lives with her son in Gicikiza.

 Contacts:            Rwanda Women Network

                                Email address: rwawnet@rwanda1.com

                                Website: www.rwandawomennetwork.org