Rwandan Superstitions

1. A woman should not eat goat meat. If she does, she will grow a beard.
2. A woman should never call her father in-law by name or refer to him by name to anyone else.
3. A pregnant woman should never look into a tomb. If she does, she will give birth to a stillborn child.
4. You should never touch something that has been struck by lightning. If you do, you too will be struck by lightning later on in life.
5. A girl/woman should not climb trees.
6. A woman should not milk a cow.
7. A man should not drink the milk of a pregnant cow.
8. You should never kill a cat. If you do, you will lead an unlucky life.
9. You should never cut your nails at night. If you do, you will become a thief.
10. Girls should not sit by the fireplace. If they do, they will not get married.
11. Whistling is taboo in general and forbidden at night, as it is said to conjure up snakes or evil spirits. Women should never whistle, men should never whistle indoors.
12. A woman who is menstruating should never hold someone else's baby. If she does, the baby will get sick.
13. You should never tell a fable in the daytime. If you do, you will turn into a lizard.

As you can see, many of these superstitions are aimed at limiting the activities of women. Rwanda has a long history of gender inequality, but fortunately the country has made great strides in recent years to combat this and encourage the promotion of women. Today, Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in parliament of any country in the world, and it is the ONLY country in which women claim the majority of seats (56%), including the coveted position of speaker! When I asked my English class at the district office about these traditions, they explained that many of them are rooted in strong cultural significance but may no longer be applicable. For example, now that many girls and women wear pants, climbing trees is okay. On the flip side, I'm still always careful about not whistling in public (or ever).

For more information on women's improved roles in Rwanda, refer to the following article: McCrummen, Stephanie. "Women run the show in a recovering Rwanda." The Washington Post, 27 October 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/26/AR2008102602197.html?sid=ST2008051504314&s_pos=
(There is also a link to this article and other relevant web pages on top right side of this blog).
Senator Aloisea Inyumba, who is quoted, serves on our school's advisory board and was one of the people integral in getting the Maranyundo School started.

In addition to the Maranyundo Initiative, there are many great organizations that work in the US and in developing countries such as Rwanda to promote the education, health and financial stability of women. One that I know that does great work is Women for Women International, www.womenforwomen.org. This DC-based nonprofit, which I interned for in college, assists women survivors of war in eight developing countries to re-build their lives and their families by means of weekly support groups, trainings and small business loans.