Shamsi Kazimbaya has been a gender activist almost all her professional life. Her passion for gender activism has seen her work with different gender organisations. The 40-year-old talked to Women Today’s Sharon Kantengwa about her work experience and her achievements.

Tell us about yourself

I was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and I am married with two children. I am 40 years old, and a Muslim, a human rights and gender activist. I have been dealing with gender related issues for the last ten years in different positions but right now, I work with JHPIEGO; an international non-profit health organization affiliated to Johns Hopkins University. I am the gender advisor for one of their programmes called Maternal and Child Survival Programme (MCSP).

Share with us your work experience

When I finished my Bachelors degree in Public Administration, my very first job was being the executive secretary of Nyamyumba District in Western province. I held this position for 3 years. I was then promoted to the position of Coordinator of National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) at the province level of Butare before I was promoted to the national level as director of programmes. I later joined Society for Women and Aids in Africa (SWAA) as the executive secretary for about seven years because I wanted to be fully engaged with women.

During that time, I pursued my Masters degree in gender and development after realizing that there was a gap because people were confusing gender as a women issue and we were actually not engaging many men. I felt that though I was doing well in the programmes and projects, they weren’t sustainable yet. I realised that while we are trying to empower women, given the traditional norms, and gender barriers, we were exposing the same women and girls to another kind of violence because men and boys were not involved. After seven years, I decided to join another organization called RWAMREC (Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre) which is known for working with men and boys to address gender inequality. With RWAMREC, I was coordinating a project called men care+ at the national level to basically involve men as positive partners in gender and issues of maternal child health and sexual reproductive health. After 3 years of successfully coordinating men care+, I decided to go one step further and join JHPIEGO an international NGO.

What is the inspiration behind the gender activism?

I was interested in this field before I pursued a master’s degree in gender and development, and this I attribute to my own personal background. I come from a big family of seven girls and one boy. Being born and raised in DRC where there were gender inequalities, we were fortunate to have very gender sensitive parents. We have never felt discriminated, have been given the same opportunities as our brother and have also been empowered like any other child regardless of sex. Our first empowerment was education which inspired me to see things differently, and I feel that I should give back. I had this in mind since I was a very young girl, and the passion drove me to participate in gender activities in high school and university until I felt like I should really be involved on a daily basis.

What have been your achievements?

Being given many opportunities as a Rwandan woman but also from my parents who were gender sensitive, education was our first empowerment. I have been able to mentor and inspire my younger sisters and other women, travel around the world and I have been able to speak confidently in big forums that I am part of.

What have been your challenges?

The biggest challenge is the perceptions and attitudes of people in our communities. Having been in a top position professionally when I was still young, I received many criticisms because many thought those positions belong to men. Islam as a religion is gender sensitive but we are having problems with biased traditional men who misinterpret the Quran. To them speaking publically is behaving like a man which is a big challenge to us the women. My strength is in challenging them.

What has been you philosophy about life?

A woman is a special creation, and is able to do anything very well. When I say a woman is really powerful, I mean it because I have seen it through my experience, and I always look forward to do more.

What are your future plans?

I am a politician and have political ambitions as I am on the leadership committee of PDI (Ideal Democratic Party). Although I am balancing between my political ambitions and professional career, my focus now is mostly on research, writing and publishing books and articles about gender and women empowerment.

What advice do you have for the women?

The biggest barrier I have seen in women is not having self esteem. They should believe in themselves and not give up because what men can do, women can do it. Parents too need to empower girls because early marriages cause a negative impact on them. As women and girls, we have a lot to do and becoming a young mother can sometimes hinder your goals.

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