Duhozanye: The Village of Widows...

The pandemonium aftermath of genocide is something only fathomable by those unfortunate enough to experience it. Not only are people and homes left in ruins, but also governments, economies, and basic infrastructure. The task of rebuilding and reforming communities can appear to be a near unachievable goal. This goal becomes even more difficult to attain when the genocide has resulted in 800 000 deaths, and a major portion of the male population. These are the circumstances that the women of Rwanda found themselves situated in after the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

After the death of significant male population, the women of Rwanda were left to pick up the pieces of their war-ravaged nation. This was a country that did not allow women to own land or to be sole guardians even to their own children. Even after having faced so much devastation already, a group of Rwandan woman managed to muster the strength to mobilize and begin to reconstruct their community by supporting and hold on firm to one another.

Here, the stories of Daphrose Mukarutamu, a Tutsi women who lost her husband and all but two of her 11 children. In the aftershock of the genocide, Daphrose thought she was the only one left, but when she turned to her neighbours, she then found out they had also been equally affected. She considered suicide but instead, she took in 20 orphans and started Duhozanye, an association of Tutsi and Hutu widows who were married to Tutsi men. Duhozanye means “to console one another”… The Duhozanye Association was founded in November 1994 by a group of widows in the district of Gisagara, located in the ex-prefecture of Butare.

On the left is Daphrose Mukarutamu

Duhozanye’s formation and growth - from a support group of neighbours who share their traumatic experiences, rebuild their homes, and collect and bury their dead, to an expanding member-driven network that advances the empowerment of Rwandan women. The association members helps women victims of rape and HIV/AIDS, running small businesses and classes in gender violence prevention, and taking part in national reconciliation through open-air people’s courts where they can face, and often forgive, the killers of their loved ones.

In the beginning, these widows started with meeting at a specific time every week to share their common grief and mourn their loved ones. When it was time for the group to meet none would miss the opportunity of being with others. For these women who had lost everything dear to them, it was simply a relieving experience to meet and cry together. After the genocide, there were many widows who were looking for emotional support especially those who had been raped and infected with HIV/AIDS.

After a short while, these widows started thinking about what they could do for themselves to rebuild their lives. Then, the Association, which started with the objective of providing emotional support, expanded its activities to address socio-economic needs of its members. Fourteen years after the genocide, the strides made by Duhozanye in the political and social-economic empowerment of Rwandan women are enormous. With strong resilience, these women were able to overcome the unthinkable and to make a difference in their lives and for their country.

Since their beginnings, the women of Duhozanye have continued to be a strong force in their community emotionally, economically, and physically.  They have set up gynecology clinics for the women who have been raped and helped the UN distribute aid for HIV/AIDS victims. They continue to support each other in many ways and have been recognized by various humanitarian organizations for their efforts. Similar groups have also begun to sprout in war-torn African countries such as Benin and the People’s Democratic Republic of the Congo.