An Interview with Teachers about Gender Equality in Rwanda

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Sarah EpplinEd 3 - Kirehe District, Eastern Province


I live in a village in the middle ofnowhere about a 1.5 hour moto ride North-East of Kibungo. Since site visit, I’ve considered my village a verystrange hole in the wall because though it is far from anywhere, it is a bigvillage. For description’s sake, it’s possible to buy trunks, mattresses, andchocolate any day of the week. Because of its size, people who live in Nashodon’t consider our village as the “countryside.” It is not the countryside, butit is not mu mujyi – instead it issomewhere in-between, so I call it umudugudumunini (large village).
I decided to interview two of my co-workers at G.S. Rugoma(a third joined the conversation late) about Gender Equality. I was curiousabout their thoughts, as they live and work in a big village that has mostlymale leaders, though female ones are striving through. Our Head Teacher, even,at my school is female. About half the teachers are female, with a majorityteaching at the primary school.
What I expected from the interview was some kind of insightinto their personal ideas, but as the conversation continued, I realized thatas anywhere in Rwanda, the subject of Gender Equality is greeted with repeatedphrases, an indication that gender equality is not understood in all ways itcould be. The message my fellow teachers wanted me to grasp was thatin Rwanda, gender equality is present when males and females are workingtogether and that if both try, they are capable of doing a given task. It isimportant to note the comments at the end, explaining that before the genocide,there were no female leaders, but now the constitution says 30% of leaders mustbe female. As Americans, it is easier to notice the differences between oursocieties and to recognize the inequalities, but that fact alone shows thatthough buhoro buhoro (slowly byslowly), there is improvement. What I wished for them to mention, though theydidn’t, was the ever-present gender roles in Rwandan society, but perhapsanother day.
Please note that I havetranscribed this interview without changes to the language or grammar used bythe interviewees. Rwanda is a country where many of its citizens are learningEnglish as their 3^rd or even 4^th language. I communicatein simple English, and this is reflected here.
Sarah Epplin:G.S. Rugoma has both female and male teachers. Do you think this is important?Why or why not?Male Teacher(MT): Yes, it is important to have female and male teachers because gender isvery important in our education.Female Teacher (FT): Yes! Itis important. I think that everywhere we need the boy and the girl.SE: In whatways do the male teachers try to help the female teachers?MT: Maleteachers help female teachers as the female teachers can help the male teachersin their lessons. All of them, male and female teachers, can have the sameperformance in their activities.FT: Not.Because the females…we have the ideas.SE: In whatways do the female teachers try to help the male teachers?MT: Yes,female teachers can help male teachers. That means that female teachers can beclever someway than male teachers. I can give you example. Betty can be betterin English than me. Or she can be better in mathematics than me. And so we canhelp each other.SE: How dothe teaching methods differ between the male and female teachers?MT:Methodologically, there are different ways to teach. We cannot confirm thatfemale teachers can be better than male there is not a best method of teaching.The best method of teaching is that one that can help students understandbetter their lesson.FT: It isnot the same. Everyone uses the methods that are the best for us.SE:  Do you think the male teachers have anyadvantages that the female teachers don’t have? If so, what?MT: No,because there is gender equality, male teachers cannot have advantages.FT: Myanswer is the same.SE: Do youthink the female teachers have any advantages that the male teachers don’thave? If so, what?MT: Okay,the previous answer can answer that question.SE: TheRwandan government is trying to promote gender equality. Give me examples ofhow Rwanda has gender equality, socially, privately, and professionally.MT:Professionally, when we are here, both female and male teachers can have thesame advantages in their profession. Socially, in ceremonies, during weddings,both female and male can have the same advantages. Another example is that whenpeople are there at hospitals, searching for medicines, both female and malepeople can receive the same services. Privately, at home, parents are male andfemale so that the children can be involved in their life at home. If one isdoing the work, another can help.FT: No ideasfor me. The same as him.SE: In what ways do you think gender equality could improve in Rwanda?                      MT: Becauseour country is promoting gender equality, slowly by slowly I think there is nobig improvement because our country tries to reach the gender equality. It issaid that our country is not big, but for me it is not true. Our country hasdifferent regions. Rural regions and urban regions, so people in urbancommunities and rural regions cannot understand in the same ways, so that youcan find that in some regions, the gender equality has not take place at thesame level as other regions. People in urban regions can understand better thanpeople in rural regions. In rural regions, you can find a man who does not helphis wife. But in urban regions, people can help each other.SE: Whatadvice would you give a young boy about gender equality?MT: Theadvice to give to my students about gender equality is that they can help eachother without separation, without thinking that this is a boy and this is agirl and I cannot help him or her, but that they can help each other.FT: The boyand the girl are equal.SE: Whatadvice would you give a young girl about gender equality?MT: It isthe same advice as the previous question. What I can add is that all studentsare equal as [FT] has said.FT: The sameadvice as before.MT2: My ideaabout gender in Rwanda: before genocide, the government did not focus ongender, but after genocide, the Government on National Unity is trying to teachabout gender. In education, girls and boys are learning together in the sameconditions. There is something called a bonus, to help girls attend classes, sothe number of girls is increasing because the government is sensitizing andtrying to help girls learn. Both girls and boys are working together, so whenthey for example clean the classroom or do umuganda – they can be together,they can work together. Some women can be drivers. I can say in general inRwanda gender is promoted.SE: How cangender equality be improved in Rwanda?MT2: It canimprove if all leaders try to sensitize or to mobilize, to go on teachingpeople that they are the same. They may not have the same force or the samepower. In the Bible, women are always weak, but they have to mobilize them towork hard so that everyone is at the same level. It will be possible.SE: Anythingto add?MT2: Before,no woman or girl was a leader. It was always men, but today the nationalconstitution says that 30% of the leaders must be women, and so bit by bit, Ithink the number of women will increase. It is good to be here with you, anAmerican girl, at G.S. Rugoma. We are happy to improve our gender equality.