Francine stood well above me, with a stately and confident stride. Francine was not comfortable in English, and I was not comfortable in French, yet over time we learned that we shared many common philosophies. Francine came to work each day in casual Africa-wear – long patterned skirts wrapped around her notable bottom, a tunic, her hair plaited from the “saloon” on Saturday. One day Francine arrived to the office in full regalia. Her headdress was wrapped high and proud, her earrings announced her import. I greeted her saying, “You look beautiful!” The reason for her formal dress was a court date. Her husband was a cad.
Francine had had to go to court many times since the prick had left his five kids. He drifted in and out on occasion, but she hadn’t seen him in years and didn’t know where to find him. She needed him to sign a document each year permitting his three oldest to attend a private secondary school across the border in Uganda. Without his signature, Francine needed to go to court and fight for it.
When she explained all of this, I asked “What’s that about? I thought Rwanda was different. There are women at the top of ministries in the country, and Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in its parliament than anywhere in the world.”
“Well, Kimberly, it is because we are women. We can’t get anything done at our level. That power is for the elite in the country.”
And thus, with that brief statement, Rwanda became the same to me in this regard as anywhere else.
WhyTravel 