Gone are the days when all women did was to look after the home and give birth to kids:Today they do more than that and that includes running for leadership positions. In Rwanda, women occupy the biggest percentage of members of parliament and this begins from school where we see them race with their male counterparts for office.
Yvette Dusabimana aka Marah is among the female students at Mount Kigali University who came out to vie for the position of students finance minister having missed her CAT exam after her name didn’t appear in the finance system yet she was sure she paid.
Marah (Biblical name she got in high school but kept to date) describes herself as a hardworking, enthusiastic, and professional young lady. She did Literature, Economics, and Geography in High school, an advanced Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism management at Akilah campus and is now finalizing her Bachelors degree of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management.
In a conversation with the magazine’s editor, Marah who turned down sharing her childhood background said that joining university opened her eyes to both opportunities and challenges but as a student, challenges outweigh the opportunities although she chooses to focus on the brighter side.
Once voted into office, Marah hopes to put into place a project she named “we for you” that will encourage all students to contribute at least 500rwf per semester to help those students who are not financially stable to pay their tuition yet have a heart for studies.
In addition to the issue of students missing exams due to failure to clear their tuition to zero balance, Marah doesn’t believe in the system the finance office uses as she termed it “confusing”. “There should be a system that confirms that the students payment was received in addition to that from the bank because keeping receipts of all semesters is hectic for students and doesn’t make sense” the smiley melanin Marah said.
Besides financial issues students of MKUR face, confident Mara wants the students to have a say in the decisions made at the University. The “growth mindset and positive attitude” lady says 97% of what is done at the University is in favor of the school administration and not the students something she wants to change once voted into office as the Finance Minister for Mount Kigali University.
When asked how she will be able to do all that, Marah said she will work hand in hand with everyone who will be voted on the committee together with the students because she believes teamwork is key to achieve success.
Motivated by her life experiences most of which she doesn’t want to see repeat themselves, Marah is a hardworking young lady who while not at school does bar-attending gigs, make up and whichever descent paying job opportunity she comes across. The enthusiastic young lady also loves writing, singing and dancing and this is something those who live with her at Mt. Kigali Hostel can testify to.
