Katie Carlson came to Rwanda to do research for her thesis and she instantly fell in love with the country. Four months later, the self- proclaimed feminist packed her bags and left Canada for Rwanda. It has been three years and she says that it’s just the beginning. She talked to Nasra Bishumba about why she chose Rwanda.

Who is Katie Carlson?

I’m a 31-year-old, Canadian, proud feminist and gender specialist. I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC and I am incredibly passionate about social justice, equality and development. I have a Masters Degree in International Development and I specialize in Gender. I love what I do and I love the fact that my work has a positive impact on other people’s lives.  

How did you end up in Rwanda?

I first came to Rwanda in 2011 to do research for my thesis. I was conducting a comparative case study of Rwanda and South Africa, regarding their development since their respective transitions in 1994, and how gender equality was being prioritized by both governments and civil society. Essentially, I wanted to know if the quality of life for the average woman had improved, based on the commitments made by the newly democratic states and their relationships with and accountability to women in civil society. I was looking at measurements of different types of violence to assess both physical and structural violence and getting direct feedback from government folks as well as women’s organizations in civil society. I can tell you that Rwanda "won” that contest, in terms of political will and commitment to women’s equality. After I finished my research, I returned home to write my thesis over the next 4-5 months and immediately moved back to Rwanda for work when I graduated. I’ve been living here for over 3 years now and I love it. It’s my second home and the only country in the world outside of Canada that I have ever lived in for a long period of time.

Why Rwanda?

I love this country. Its resilience, strength and development inspire me. I have a great deal of respect for the leaders here. I’ve travelled widely and have not seen many other places where I could see myself making a life there, beyond just visiting. Rwanda filled me with a sense of peace and purpose when I first came here, and I am still in love.

What do you do professionally?

After I completed my Masters and moved to Rwanda, I became involved in gender networks in Kigali and was exposed to a lot of really amazing women leaders and mentors in the country, which really inspired me. I started to become more and more interested in working with teenage girls to support them on their journey to becoming the next generation of women leaders, and since I wasn’t working formally in gender at the time, I decided to start my own initiative. I gave my first workshop on gender and leadership to students from Gashora Girls Academy, and the programs grew from there! I got amazing feedback from that first group of girls, and then the idea for The Uwicyeza Project, which incorporates coaching and mentoring with community development projects was born. I was also contacted by a men’s community organization here in Kigali after they found my research online about engaging men to combat gender-based violence, and they asked me to come and give training. I had always been interested in men’s involvement in combating gender-based violence and promoting gender equality, so that was a great opportunity, and we now offer all of our workshops to groups of men as well. After that I established Paper Crown Institute officially, and it is essentially a focused amalgamation of all the gender work I was doing before that under one organization, including my gender research.

Tell us about Paper Crown.

Paper Crown is an organization I started based on what I believe is one of the most important ways forward to end gender inequality and violence - that is, educating communities in an interactive and participatory way to foster changes in mindsets that will lead to social and behavioural change that lasts. We have three main areas of intervention - working with high school girls, engaging men, and conducting research related to gender and development. The goal is to do away with stereotypes, myths and misunderstandings about what gender is, what women’s empowerment is and what role both men and women have to play in securing lasting peace, non-violence and equality in their homes and societies. So far, we have worked with about 150 now, 22 adult women from 6 different countries in Africa - Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and DRC and we’ve trained adult men from a local community organization.

What drives you?

Justice. I cannot stand abuse, neglect, discrimination, inequality. I seek to recognize and speak out against all forms of oppression.

Do you think that Feminism is a movement that is still serving the purpose that it set off to do or have some people lost track of what the original goal was making it a man bashing movement instead?

I think if folks read up on feminist thought and theory, they will find that feminism has sharpened its focus more than ever and has evolved. Feminism is about recognizing unbalance and harmful power relations - it is not just limited to perspectives of hetero men and women. Real feminism has nothing to do with man bashing. Some women feel angry about the discrimination and oppression, in the same way that African-American folks feel what bell hooks called "a killing rage” towards white supremacy. When you are dominated and controlled for centuries, there is a justified emotional response to that. I think anger and frustration is visible in some feminist circles, but it’s not about "hating men”, it’s about being fed up with patriarchy.

What is your biggest challenge?

So far, it has been fundraising. As a social business we can charge fees for our training to companies that can afford it, but of course with the youth we offer everything at no charge. So, we have to fundraise for those specific projects, and that can take a very long time.

Who do you look up to?

My mother always encouraged me to do and be anything, and she gave her support 100% as did my father. She was the kind of woman who encouraged me to be independent and make my own way in the world - not to be afraid, timid or withdrawn and to use my voice for justice and worthy causes, especially helping others in need. I also deeply admire non fictional writer; Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche.  

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I would like to be living in East Africa, preferably in Rwanda, and seeing positive change happening all around me in communities across the country and region. I want to grow Paper Crown to be different from the traditional approaches that a lot of big NGOs take in addressing gender issues. I think our approach really resonates with everyday folks in normal communities, and that is what I want to foster. Real change for real people, not just academics and elites.