How SASA activists helped Jean’s family strengthen Gender equality in their household.
There are not many households in Rwanda where you will find both spouses sharing domestic tasks like cooking, cleaning, washing dishes, washing the children, and other charges. Often, the men do not participate in the housework.
However, observe Violette Ndihokubwayo and Jean Gatabazi’s household, in Mulinja cell of Kicukiro district, and you’ll find that this couple shares household activities evenly on days when Jean has not gone to work.
The testimony of these two demonstrated that their household had not been a harmonious one over the prior two years, even sharing that their family was one renowned in their neighborhood for having frequent disputes.
Gatabazi shared "Our child was still a baby, he needed porridge and sugar, and my wife asked me to buy some. I bought porridge flour but I refused to buy sugar, and they ate porridge without sugar while I went to a bar to drink alcohol".
Violette added "That night my husband beat me... He used to beat me every day, especially when he was drunk…”
When talking to their neighbors, they would often report their surprise at the fact the unending fights between Gatabazi and Violette were no longer waking them up.
While in conversation, Gatabazi mentioned that these changes were possible following the visits and advice the family received from SASA activists (volunteers trained on fighting against gender-based violence) of the USAID/Igire Wiyubake Activity, a project implemented by YWCA Rwanda in Kicukiro District.
Prior to this, Gatabazi believed that women did not deserve any rights, or to have a part in decision-making about their households. As he reflected on his past of being an alcoholic, taking his wife for granted, and not considering how she fit into a harmonious household, he shared that this was all because of his lack of knowledge.
Following the training they received from SASA activists and the revelations of what gender-based violence truly entails, the happy couple now shares what their family is doing differently in order to achieve maximum marital bliss.
In the Violette and Gatabazi family, there are no more secrets, their financials are now complementary and they have even begun to invest in properties because of joint saving techniques that they learned together.
Violette said : “Today, I know the Mobile Money account password of my husband and he sometimes allows me to withdraw money myself”.
“We have bought two plots worth a million Rwandans Francs ; we are both in savings groups... the SASA helped us a lot” Gatabazi celebrated.
Violette and Gatabazi thank the USAID/Igire Wiyubake Activity for their continuous efforts in fighting against gender-based violence.
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