At G.S. Muyange, in Kicukiro District, a group of boys is combating Gender-Based Violence by championing positive masculinity and ensuring that girls in and out of school feel safe.
Thierry Nahimana, Hussein Cyusa, Murenzi Ufitimana, and Janvier Mayanja are among the young athletes who, as graduates of Coaching Boys into Men (CBIM) have unlearned that “violence equals strength” and are advocating for social change.
Before CBIM lessons, they had a negative perspective towards women and the girls they attended school with ; they all believed that girls were weaker and good for house chores.
“I used to tell my fellow boys on the playground that they played and walked like girls, thinking I was insulting them, I felt like girls were of less value than us the boys,” Thierry says.
CBIM is a twelve-week training that coaches boys into better men who are gender-sensitive, and accountable, and foster a violent-free society. It is one of the approaches used to fight GBV in USAID/Igire-Wiyubake Activity, implemented by YWCA Rwanda. It aims to equip them with traits of positive masculinity. CBIM activities take place in school clubs, where the athletes are facilitated by CBIM coaches as patrons.
According to the boys, they not only bullied girls but also bullied younger boys who were around them to feed their egos as men.
Before CBIM, Mayanja says he was so hostile, especially towards his sister, that he once beat her because she had not cooked and served him food on time.
“I was not only hostile to my sister but also used vulgar language towards my female classmates to belittle them and put them where they belonged, which, to me, was in the back.”
All this is behind them now, as they have learned to respect girls and understand that girls are just as capable. They now realize what a boy can do a girl can do ; even better when given the chance.
The boys add that are now competing fairly with girls in class and on the sports ground, and do chores at home. They have more consideration not only for their female counterparts but also for the younger boys who they feel are weaker than them in strength and demeanour.
Their wish is that more boys join CBIM so that they can be exposed to such knowledge. They now know the rights of both girls and boys and what the Rwandan law says about violence.
Ufitimana’s dream is to be a better father to his children, a good husband, and a better citizen to his nation.
Olivier Ndyanayo a CBIM coach confirms that these boys have a completely different perspective from what they had before they were coached. He says that his own view has changed as well and that all he is hoping for is that CBIM could reach all the boys in Rwanda as it could contribute to combatting gender-based violence in the country.
