Rwanda’s groundbreaking Minister of Sports, Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju. A conversation between a Rwandan girl aspiring to be a leader with a Black Women in Political Leadership in Rwanda.

May 8, 2023May 8, 2023
BLACKWOMENLEAD2023
by eim25

When I was first introduced to this assignment, I knew right away that I wanted to interview a female political leader from my country. Thinking back to my thought process, it was a combination of honor for being Professor Davies’ first Rwandan student in this class and also the fact that I was born and raised in the country with the highest percentage of women in political leadership that motivated me and drove me to turn my eyes to Rwanda.

I decided that the person I wanted to interview would be the woman who contributed greatly to the male-dominated field of sports in Rwanda and inspired/empowered so many young girls to dream big not only as athletes but also as aspiring leaders. In this podcast, I have the privilege to speak to the honorable Minister of Sports, Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju, a businesswoman and politician who has served in this position since November 2019. For context, in Rwanda being a Minister is an extremely honorable and powerful position because it not only entails being a member of the president’s cabinet but also when putting it in comparison with the United States the position is like combining a Congress person and a Senator into one role. In other words, she is among the notable female political leaders that have put Rwanda on the map and the number 1 ranking for being the country with the highest percentage of female political leaders.

Thus, it is with great honor that I present to you this podcast which is a conversation between a young Rwandan girl and her role model, a Black Rwandan Woman in political leadership. In this podcast you will get to hear what it is like to be a Woman Political Leader in Rwanda as Minister Munyangaju tells us her personal experiences, discusses important topics that come with being a female leader, and provides advice for the next generation and all listeners. I would like to continue thanking Minister Munyangaju for taking the time to speak with me especially because this interview was conducted at 12:00 AM her time in Rwanda and she was able to kindly squeeze in time to speak with me despite her having to attend two more meetings after we talked. Through this podcast, I was not only inspired and learned a multitude of things about my country, but I was also able to network and gain an honorable connection with one of the most powerful women in Government in Rwanda. I hope that despite the slight connection issue due to the interview being conducted on Zoom, this podcast gives you a glimpse of female political leadership in Rwanda/Africa and inspires/motivates you to also be the change you want to see in your country and the world at large without letting any restrictions regarding your gender or race stop you.

*Podcast/Interview Format and disclaimers:*

Minister Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju starts speaking at 3:44
Interview conducted and recorded via Zoom *mindful of internet issues and pauses*

Thank You for Listening!

-Elsie Ishami Muhirwa (eim25@cornell.edu)

Works Cited (Image Citation)

“About.” MINISPORTS, https://www.minisports.gov.rw/about-1#:~:text=Aurore%20Mimosa%20MUNYANGAJU%20is%20the%20current%20Minister%20of%20Sports%20of%20Rwanda.