Born and raised in Ruhango District, 19-year-old Josephine Mutuyemariya’s paternal side of the family regarded women as second to men, and giving birth to a girl was considered some sort of misfortune. At the time, they deeply marginalised girls. After the death of her only brother in 1998, her mother remained with two girls, Mutuyemariya and her sister. When her father fell seriously ill and passed on in 2003, his family mocked her mother as she had only girls. Mutuyemariya says that on many occasions, she wondered why girls weren’t treated the same way as boys, a thing that affected her esteem, and led her to regret being born a girl. With so many questions and no answers, she started writing down her thoughts. Composing poems started in primary school, and teachers, realising the talent in her, encouraged her to push forward. With time, writing became a fulltime interest. Mutuyemariya started writing in 2011, as a hobby however, but with time, she started pursuing it a lot more. By 2015, she had developed a strong connection with writing, hence, doing it more often. Many people have given up on their dreams, or lost confidence in themselves because they were disheartened at a young age, and this was the case with Mutuyemariya. However, she found solace in writing and started believing in herself. And it is this positivity that has pushed her this far. “I love poetry, and I have been able to find peace, happiness, and hope. When I feel like expressing myself, I get a pen and paper and pour out what’s on my mind. I feel much better. It’s like confiding in someone you trust because you’re assured that your concerns are safe,” she says. She also goes by a stage name, Mpinganzima ya Rwema, and highlights that poetry also works as a shortcut to share her ideas with society. She says she writes to pass a message of hope and encouragement to whoever needs it, especially women and girls, and that her Kinyarwanda poems are greatly appreciated by those that read them. At the end of the day, she wants to educate, inspire, and discuss issues that society takes carelessly, such as discrimination, hate and negativity, among others. According to the poet, her love for writing was stimulated by the fact that she wanted to empower girls who were in any position that diminished them, to start believing in themselves. Mutuyemariya started addressing women’s abilities in her poetry, and issues that are still overlooked in many societies. She believes that women, if shown care, love and respect, have massive potential and ability. She hopes to guide children with the right attitude, to embrace and love themselves for who they are. “I often find myself thinking about many things to write about, and sometimes I can be inspired by a picture. I want to address love, unity, and equality,” she says, adding that ideas are also based on what happens in society, experience, and events. Knowing that people appreciate what she does has given her confidence that girls and women have an important role in society. According to Mutuyemariya, through testimonies, poems have encouraged girls to feel as capable as boys. She was also inspired to write more when she represented Rwandan youngsters in different countries like Niger in 2018, Switzerland in 2019 June and Tanzania in 2019 through Children’s Voice Today (CVT), a Rwanda non-governmental organisation committed to being the voice of Rwandan children, to empower them to advocate for their rights and to fight against poverty. The senior six graduate hopes to join university next year to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Law. She plans to continue writing and making a collection of her poems, and mostly advocate for children’s rights through prose. She is currently volunteering with Children’s Voice Today, the NGO is located in Nyamirambo and has branches in Ruhango, Burera, Bugesera, Kirehe, and Nyarugenge and assists children aged six to 17. Mutuyemariya looks forward to being a public speaker, to inspire her audience to make a change by starting something that they have always wanted to and reach their goals. She hopes to get a few public speaking tips through online training and YouTube. One of the challenges she encounters, she says, is limited financial means to produce poems in a creative and attractive manner.
