From a certified banker to an agricultural economist and advocate for gender and development, Clara Anyangwe’s passion to see transformation in women’s lives propelled her to join the gender and development world. She spoke to Women Today’s Sharon Kantengwa about the need to empower women.

Tell us about yourself

I am currently the acting representative of the UN Women Rwanda Country office. Before holding this position, I was the deputy representative in the same office. I am also the co-chair of the Programme Planning and Oversight Committee (PPOC) for the One UN in Rwanda and the Co-Chair of the Accountable Governance UNDAP result group. I am an agricultural economist, a gender and development advocate as well as a trained/certified banker. I am a native of Cameroon (Anglophone Cameroon) but above all, a Pan Africanist.

And your work experience?

I started my professional career about 20 years ago, first as a career banker before getting into the gender and development world. I, however, started my international career in Rwanda in 2010 as the One UN Programme Manager for UN Women.

Before joining UN Women Rwanda, I was the National Programme Officer (NPO) for the then United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in my home country Cameroon. I also have extensive knowledge on HIV/AIDS prevention and response, as I was part of a team that carried out a collaborative research on the genetic variability of the HIV 1 virus with the New York University School of medicine (as a social worker) in 2005. 

I have specific expertise in the areas of gender analysis and gender mainstreaming; project cycle management; strategic planning, macroeconomic analysis and policy formulation. I am also skilled in mainstreaming the gender equality, human rights, environmental sustainability, capacity development and result-based management principles in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).

Why did you choose gender and development over banking?

The great potentials that I see in women at all levels inspired me to join an organisation that focuses on transforming the lives of women and their families, bringing in my technical skills, commitment and dedication. My passion for gender and development, particularly rural development, made me join UNIFEM at the time (in 2006) before transitioning to UN Women.

What are some of your achievements in this line of work?

As a team of dedicated people, that is my colleagues with whom I work directly in the office, the national counterparts and also our donors, we have managed to effectively position the gender equality agenda within the One UN in Rwanda. This has been through the implementation of Gender Joint Programmes particularly in the areas of governance/women’s political participation, GBV, women’s economic empowerment, gender sensitive planning and budgeting, gender statistics as well as the mainstreaming of gender equality in the humanitarian response. 

Through these joint programmes and some UN Women stand-alone initiatives, it is gratifying to see that with the help of UN sister agencies, all our implementing partners (particularly the National Gender Machinery Institutions, other Government Institutions, NGOs and INGOs), women can participate together with their male counterparts in democratic processes; they can support their families in paying for the school fees of their children and also feed/clothe them, and access different categories of services. The most important is the enhanced social status of women, particularly of rural women.

I have specifically supported various UN Country teams (UNCTs) in Cameroon, Nigeria and Kenya in operationalising the Delivering as One approach, using the successful One UN Rwanda pilot as an example. I have also contributed to knowledge management on gender issues for the One UN Pilot, drawing on UN Women good practices and experiences on gender equality.

What are the challenges? 

It saddens me when we are not able to support a worthwhile project that has the potential of causing a dent in the lives of women and their families just because we do not have enough financial resources.

Also linked to the above is the fact that I have seen some of my colleagues leave the organisation because we were forced to downsize the office. This has been the hardest thing for me to grapple with, seeing people with whom you have worked for so long, leave.

What are your future plans?

I will continue working to promote the gender and development agenda, including the Delivering as One approach in more challenging capacities in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What is your philosophy for life?

My philosophy in life - which is also my mantra is that people are at the centre of everything that we do. In order to achieve results we have to first of all invest in people. Each and every human being has great potential, often times hidden! We only need to help them unleash this potential and nurture them.

What message do you have for Rwandan women?

I have a very strong conviction that women, whether in the urban or rural areas, are the main drivers of any economy. They just need to be given the same opportunities as their male counterparts and they will unleash that which is within them. As women, we always face some specific stumbling blocks that are linked to the fact that we are women. We should view these stumbling blocks as stepping stones and use them to forge ahead despite the odds.

In addition, men are among the greatest resources that we have. We can empower women if men play a central role in the interventions that we implement and vice versa. The future is very bright for Rwandan women because of the political will at the highest level, which is not usually the case in most countries especially in Africa. Remember that H.E Paul Kagame is a very proud Champion of the HeforShe campaign! What other inspiration would we seek to have?

editorial@newtimes.co.rw