The personal mastery of Virginie
Virginie at first appeared too quiet and a bit
un-involved for a person picked to represent her organization in the Rwandan
version of feminist leadership training under the ACE Program.
But her quietness could be attributed
to the fact that she only had a smattering knowledge of English to fully feel
involved. However, this was no deterrence to her participation. She requested
to express herself in Kinyarwanda as the training began, while eager colleagues
were on hand to translate the proceedings which were conducted in English.
One of the hall marks of the leadership
training involves personal mastery, which has to begin with self discovery. It
is anchored on the notion that understanding oneself can lead to personal
growth by being able to face yourself for who you are and aspire to become.
This is by building on your strengths and improving on your weaknesses for
personal transformation.
It was during the sessions in
personal mastery that, in facing herself by narrating the situation that characterized her life, Virginie defined one of the most poignant moments of
the workshop.
Every woman has her story. Yet, hers
was many women’s story; the story of abuse and dis-empowerment across Africa and
the world that makes it a universal women’s issue. Virginie encapsulated this
when she broke down in tears recounting the emotional violence she has
experienced in her own home.
By virtue of only being able to express
herself in Kinyarwanda, she was in many ways symbolic of the situation of the
Rwandan woman and the oppressive patriarchal structures she has had to endure
in her socio-cultural milieu. She demonstrated not only her frustrations in
personal empowerment, but the frustrations most Rwanda women must face in the
existing barriers to effective leadership and personal advancement that
continue to be entrenched in cultural norms and are perpetuated patriarchal
hierarchies. Traditional social and gender norms continue to perceive women as inferior, while there is limited awareness on human rights.
Yet, Virginie is an accomplished leader, despite the abuse and
humiliation she suffered in her domestic situation.
“I am the leader of the ruling
political party in my community, as well as the leader of my women’s group and,
among others, of the parents’ forum at my children’s school,” she had explained
without seeming to quite appreciate the personal achievement.
The irony was that this was yet
another exemplification of Rwandan women and their leadership potential despite
having to contend with patriarchal structures that tend to keep them down, paradoxically
in a policy climate and political will that champions women.
But the moral of Virginie’s story
was that, like most of the participants at the workshop, she was not aware of
herself as a leader, as if it was a favor, and appeared to have resigned
herself to her fate in her colleagues’ vote and realization of her potential to
thrust her on the pedestal to lead them.
The feminist leadership training
was about unlocking the leadership potential by making it obvious that it is
inherent in women to be effective leaders and claim their right as such in
defiance of the patriarchal hierarchies.
By the end of the workshop Virginie
was a changed and empowered woman. For one who could only express herself in
Kinyarwanda, she vowed to express herself in English henceforth. Speaking in
English symbolized her empowerment to
overcome any of her life’s hurdles; she demonstrated how “the personal is
political” in learning to assert one’s rights through self awareness and
understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and how to build on our
strengths in our various socio-cultural and political contexts towards our
individual and collective empowerment.
Rwanda Women's Network (RWN) 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 RWN please follow the links below.
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