2012
THE WOMEN HAVE WINGS AWARDS
Aloisea Inyumba
Rwanda
We mourn the loss of our dear Sister Aloisea Inyumba, a women of true courage, and one of Rwanda’s greatest patriots. Up until her passing she was Minister of Gender and Family Promotion since May 2011. Prior to that appointment, Inyumba served as a Senator in the National Senate of Rwanda from 2004. Read: “The Passing of an Icon.”
As a Senator, she served on two committees: Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security Committee and Political Affairs and Good Governance Committee. While in Parliament, she was an active member of the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum, which brings together Rwandan Women Parliamentarians. Hon. Inyumba served as the first Minister of Gender and Social Affairs from 1994 to 1999; right after the genocide when the ministry was first established. As Minister at the time, she was part of the leadership team that faced the challenges resulting from the genocide. For the Ministry of Gender and Social Affairs, this included organizing the adoption into families of the large number of orphans and the establishment of the national women’s network to adjudicate family and property issues resulting from the genocide. Inyumba is passionate about women’s involvement in politics and leadership and takes an active role in representing women’s voices to local government throughout Rwanda. She has been involved with women at the grassroots, encouraging women to participate actively in the decision making processes in their communities and the nation and exhorting women to rise up and use their gifts as leaders.
From 1999 to 2001, Inyumba served as Executive Secretary to the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. She believes that women are by nature peace makers and should use their God-given abilities to lead peace and reconciliation initiatives in the communities and spearhead efforts at national unity. Inyumba has been actively involved in the liberation and rebuilding of Rwanda and is an active member of the Rwanda Patriotic Front which put an end to the genocide in Rwanda. She is passionate about the unity and development of Rwanda as a nation and has served in various other positions of leadership in Rwanda. Minister Inyumba holds an Honors Degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere University Kampala, and an honorary doctorate from La Roche College in the United States. She holds a Masters of International Relations from the Irish American University and the Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Research and Dialogue for Peace and is a member of the African Women Advisory Committee and is an advisor on several other committees. Inyumba is married and she and her husband have two children.
Chi Yvonne Leina
Cameroon
Chi Yvonne Leina is a pioneering journalist and currently a reporter for the Global Press Institute. She is dedicated to unearthing hidden issues in her community and exposing them to a global audience. She is particularly focused on the problems faced by women and young girls in her community whose voices go unheard in traditional media. Her writing on breast ironing has unveiled the story to a huge international audience thereby setting the platform for change. Leina has braved police intimidation and brutalization in Cameroon to become a voice of the voiceless. Despite being jailed and operating in a country with hostile policies towards free speech, Leina founded GENDER DANGER where women receive training on how to become citizen journalists and raise their voices for their communities.
Leina is a freelance broadcaster and journalist specializing in health and religion. For four years she worked as a reporter/on-air presenter at Equinoxe Television, Cameroon’s leading private TV and radio channel. In addition she has served as editor of the environmental magazine Cameroon Birdline. Her mother is President of Christian Women’s Fellowship of the Presbyterian Church, Ntamulung congregation in Cameroon.
Virisila Baudromo
Fiji
Virisila Baudromo was selected for her courage over many years of political unrest, physical intimidation & imprisonment. She has been detained as recently as July of this year and continues to speak out, advocate and serve as an example to women in Fiji. Her work to train young women as leaders across a wide variety of important topics – feminism, environment, advocacy, human rights, etc. – is an important collaborative effort in strengthening the ongoing human rights work in Fiji.
We also admire her because she is making important advances for women’s rights with very few resources. Given that she is such a strong supporter of women’s rights, we believe that the recognition and funding will provide her with opportunities that might not be available otherwise.
Buadromo is a strong advocate for equality, human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Following the 2006 coup in Fiji, Ms. Buadromo was targeted by the regime for her work on behalf of citizens’ rights. On Christmas Eve, Ms. Buadromo was surreptitiously taken to the military barracks where she endured a night of serious physical and mental abuse. Undaunted by the experience of abuse and threats, Ms. Buadromo and her team at the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement have developed the Emerging Leaders Forum, a year-long feminist leadership program for young women covering the topics of feminism, the environment, sustainable development and advocacy tools, to further include training on the inter-relationship between democracy, rule of law and human rights.
Today, Ms. Buadromo continues to help women and children access justice and defend their rights – rights that often take a backseat in Fiji’s chaotic political climate.