Winnie Ingabire is a confident, charismatic and eloquent young woman. A lecturer in the Electronics and Telecommunications department of Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), she is now far removed from the troubles that she faced growing up in Matimba in Kagitumba.

"After completing primary school, I had no hope of joining secondary school. My father was suffering from cancer at the time and therefore, he couldn’t afford to pay for my secondary school education,” Ingabire narrates. By chance she heard of Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Rwanda Chapter, and she was misinformed that the organisation was providing free education for all girls. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Upon arrival at FAWE Girls’ School in Gisozi, Ingabire found that she didn’t qualify for a scholarship because at the time, FAWE Rwanda’s scholarships were being given only to orphans. However, she was allowed to pay half the school fees. In time, and due to her good performance and zeal for education, she was able to secure a FAWE bursary to complete Ordinary Level. She then received an Education for Development and then a government scholarship to complete her Advanced Level and Undergraduate degree respectively. The mother of two, who owes her success to FAWE Rwanda, is one of a handful of girls who have acquired university education.

A comprehensive scholarship package for the needy

Ingabire is one of the 6000 adolescents (mostly girls) who have benefitted from FAWE Rwanda scholarships since its inception in 1997. Funding for these scholarships was obtained from partner organisations such as UNHCR, USAID and Winrock International. The objective of the scholarships was to bridge the gender gap in education. Originally concentrating on secondary education, FAWE Rwanda soon realized that girls were consistently failing to complete the full cycle of education. In fact, the underrepresentation of girls in higher education continues to exist as girls account for only 20% of students in the aforementioned level and in the areas of Science and Technology.

For this reason, FAWE Rwanda entered a partnership with the MasterCard Foundation in 2012 for a scholarship programme to support 1,200 needy girls, majorly focusing on higher education, to give them relevant skills and knowledge in order to improve their livelihoods. "The scholarship programme will enable bright but financially constrained boys and girls to complete secondary school and acquire relevant university education,” says Eugenie Mukanoheli, the National Coordinator of FAWE Rwanda. Already, 698 girls in upper secondary and 12 in Technical and vocatinoanl education training are benefitting from the bursaries.

To ensure that the scholarships go to deserving students, FAWE Rwanda uses different platforms to disseminate information. "We make advertisements through radio, television and newspapers about the available opportunities. We also work with district authorities to distribute application forms,” says Telesphore Kabera, FAWE Rwanda’s Programme Officer in charge of Policy, Research and advocacy. Asked how beneficiaries are identified and how fraud is avoided, Kabera says that FAWE is hands on with the application process. "Once the forms are filled and we have determined the possible beneficiaries, we make surprise home visits. Even if the applicant isn’t there, we obtain information from local authorities,” he says.

One of the major concerns about school dropout, especially for girls in Sub-Saharan Africa, is lack of basic sanitary material. Asked if this could hinder the scholarship beneficiaries from completing their education, Kabera says, "No. We provide them with a comprehensive scholarship package. We don’t only pay school fees or give them scholastic material. We also give them sanitary material and pocket money; all the required basic needs for a student.” Kabera emphasises

Tackling society’s negative perception

Despite the existence of FAWE Rwanda and other organisations which focus on girl child education and empowerment, society continues to beat girls down. "Some parents are still reluctant to provide girls with education. They don’t think it’s a priority and on some days, girls stay at home to do domestic work,” says Mukanoheli. This kind of attitude highly contributes to the low self-esteem some of the girls have. Mukanoheli further asserts that some girls prioritise marriage over education because the communities in which they live often make them feel that that’s the only thing they are good for. Ingabire agrees with Mukanoheli: "Some girls have low self-esteem because within their communities, they are expected to take a back seat, to stay at home,” Ingabire says.She adds that educated women are shunned and that most times men prefer to marry women with low levels of education because they are more submissive and are less likely to "act like men.”

It is in this respect that FAWE Rwanda, working with the MasterCard foundation started an annual mentorship programme for the scholarship beneficiaries, to impart them with self-confidence, leadership, communication and other skills. This year’s conference was the first of its kind. It took place at FAWE Girls’ School from 1st to 3rd August and attracted at least 200 girls from 10 secondary schools across the country.

The annual conference comes almost a decade after the ‘Tuseme’ model which was implemented in 1996. Tuseme is a Kiswahili word which means "Let’s speak out.” The model is FAWE’s approach to teach adolescents, especially girls to analyse situations that hinder their education and other challenges that they are faced with, within their communities. Through performing arts such as music, poetry and drama, adolescents are able to express their opinions and bring forth solutions about issues such as teenage pregnancy, school dropout, drug abuse and many others. It has led to an improvement in girls’ self-esteem and in their leadership, social and life skills. It has also enabled boys to de-link from gender discriminatory attitudes and practices. "Students who join Tuseme become more confident and perform better because they are given other skills such as analytical thinking, problem-solving, goal-setting, communication, and many others,” Mukanoheli says.

"Through Tuseme clubs, we drew inspiration from women of substance. This helped us to gain a high level of self-confidence,” says Umuhoza Karim Sahiya, one of the pioneer students at FAWE Rwanda’s Centre Of Excellence-FAWE Girls’ School, Gisozi. Sayiha, much like Ingabire, is eloquent, outspoken and confident. She asserts that this is an attribute that most girls who have studied in the COEs possess. "FAWE Girls always stand out,” she says.

FAWE’s COEs were conceived in 1999 to demonstrate that certain contexts and environments are conducive to girls’ enrolment, continuation and successful completion of the school cycle. This has led to increased rates of girls’ enrolment, performance, retention and completion of school. Through FAWE Rwanda’s COEs such as FAWE Girls’ School in Gisozi, more girls are now able to participate in classroom processes, school committees and leadership roles. This has led to reduction in teenage pregnancies and higher gender awareness among boys in mixed COEs. Additionally, some of the girls who acquired their secondary school education from FAWE Rwanda’s COEs have gone on to achieve noteworthy success in different career paths. "I had the best time at FAWE Girls’ School. We were given constant career guidance and we were told to aim high and do what society thinks is meant for only men. We were only 11 girls out of 65 students in my class,” says Sayiha who studied mechanical engineering at KIST and now works with East African Granite Ltd in Rwanda.

Additionally, to deal with society’s negative perception of girl child education, FAWE engages in community advocacy. "We go to public places; markets, churches, community gatherings and many others. We also participate in different activities that are related to the livelihood of adolescents,” says Mukanoheli. FAWE still has a long way to go in tackling poor attitude towards women empowerment especially in education but Mukanoheli is confident that community advocacy will get them there.

Why girl-child empowerment in education

Gender disparity in education is an age-old problem in Africa. At present, fewer girls than boys attain a high level of education with most girls dropping out at primary and lower secondary levels. This has resulted in early marriages and failure for girls to realise their full potential. It is in this respect that FAWE was started in 1992.

In 1993, FAWE was registered as a pan-African Non-Governmental Organisation in Nairobi, Kenya. FAWE Rwanda is therefore one of 34 chapters of the Pan-African Organisation.

Asked why FAWE focused on education as its main tool to elevate the position of women in society, Eugene Mukanoheli, the national coordinator for FAWE Rwanda says, "Education is the best way to address other issues. An educated girl is more aware of her rights. She is also able to secure a job to become self-reliant. Not only that, but she will also contribute to the country’s development.” Mukanoheli also says that when girls stay in school, they delay marriage and consequently produce few children that they can support. She also believes that if girls are given the right opportunities, they go above and beyond. Ingabire agrees with this belief and asserts that, "FAWE Girls’ School provided a conducive environment for me to concentrate on my academics and to live my dream; to prove that women are capable of achieving greatness.”

Public discusses girl child education

Tara Clapper & Lacey Harper, tourists from USA

Instill self-confidence in girls. Let them know that they can achieve greatness and that education is the path to greatness. At the same time, sensitize parents about the importance of girl-child education; let them know that when girls acquire education, they become empowered. And when girls are empowered, they effect positive change within their communities.

Yvette Mutoniwase, student, St Bernadette Day Kamonyi

Girls should be protected from any hinderaces to their education by providing scholastic materials. Protect them from poor attitudes and bad groups that undermine the importance of education.

Patrick Kabayiza, businessman

It’s not enough to set up structures for education. As long as parents remain poor, they won’t afford to send their children to school. Therefore, the government should provide financial assistance to parents who can’t afford to give their children scholastic materials.

Didier Ikuzwe, Graphic Designer

Girls should always be given basic needs if they are to be encouraged to stay in school. Short of this, they will be tempted to look for places where they can get their needs. They are likely to opt for marriage.

Marita Musabyemaria, self employed

Don’t treat girls as less important than boys. Encourage them to take on challenging courses. Parents should push their daughters to do courses in TVETs. It is very challenging but it gives them practical skills that they can use to create a good future for themselves.

Bazirushaka J. De Dieu, Student University of Kigali

There is need for advocacy so that parents become more aware of the importance of girl-child education. Then parents will endeavour to give their daughters all the necessary scholarstic materials and encouragement needed to strive for a bright future.