The role of female fighters in the battle to liberate Rwanda cannot be overemphasised. Women were at the forefront of liberating the country from a regime that presided over the killing of over a million people during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

However, little is known about some of the peculiar challenges that they encountered and how they navigated through them. In an exclusive interview with The New Times’ Alice Kagina, 2Lt (retired) Annet Munganyinka talked about a wide range of issues, including sacrifice, losing comrades and access to some basic things such as sanitary needs for women during the war.

Excerpts:

What prompted your decision to join the liberation army?

We were refugees in Uganda where my parents had fled to, it’s where I was also born. We used to have discussions with them as they tried to explain that even though we had been chased out of the country, we were Rwandans. The more we talked about it, the more curious I got to know about this beautiful country my parents often whined about.

Time came when people from the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) Inkotanyi started to teach us about Rwanda and mobilized us to play a role in liberating our country, since more people were needed to join hands with those who had already gone on the battlefield.

As a young person with strength and zeal, I felt the need to contribute to the shared vision so that we may no longer be called refugees.

What was your family’s reaction?

We couldn’t tell them directly but deep down they were aware of it and they approved since they were members of the RPF. After my decision, my little brother joined afterwards.

What were the realities on the ground when you joined?

We were taken to training camps where they taught us how to handle guns, developing patience as soldiers. We enrolled in the training which only lasted about three months because more soldiers were needed on the frontline every now and then.

My first battle was on Mount Muremure, near the Rwanda-Uganda border. I remember it was surreal to me, the realities were different from the training. Many people lost their lives there and others were injured –it was not easy. We then withdrew and I immediately got the picture of how the journey was to be like.

Sometimes, we won and others, it was defeat, we had a shortage of weapons compared to our opponents but the courage kept us going forward.

However, we had no choice to give up—you couldn’t dare leave when you were conscious about those who got injured and lost their lives for the mission’s sake—it gave us more courage to honour their sacrifice and achieve our goal.

How did women cope up during the journey?

Whatever we met along the way, whether good or bad, it was as mentally expected.

Actually, there is little difference between men and women. We tried our best to keep up and they were considerate enough to cater for basic sanitary needs women have just as they planned for food and other necessities.

What was your experience after liberation and what was the way forward?

We were all joyful but anguished at the same time. We found all sorts of awful things, bodies dumped everywhere. We had to clean up and re-organize the whole country.

We later rejuvenated and did all we could to work towards development.

Message to the Rwandan youth

What you present to the youth, they have the capacity to align with it.

We had our share of role in bringing this country to where it is now, build on that to play your part and use every resource at hand such as social media platforms to fight against divisionism and negative ideologies, don’t be silent. For peace, blood was shed and it shouldn’t be in vain.

Those in the diaspora, never forget that you are Rwandan, hold onto our culture and moral ethics.

Message to women

A woman is the foundation of child upbringing, teach them our culture, unity, and equality. Work hard and be patriotic.

However, we are thankful for where a woman stands now in Rwandan society.

As we celebrate this year’s liberation anniversary, are there gaps that need attention?

We need to focus on preserving what we achieved and our local administration should demonstrate more commitment to take action in implementing goals. 

Everyone should be engaged in this fight against this pandemic. It’s a huge hindrance to our development so everyone should take charge.