Gender is not what you think it is in kinyarwanda, and that's why it should be taught in every university, in all departments

 Even many educated people don't know what Gender means , it's not their fault because even in Kinyarwanda there is no actual word for Gender and no one taught them what is Gender in university. university students are the hope of tomorrow of this country so, they must be taught Gender communication if we want a country with Gender balance.

 We are in a world where there is a lot of discrimination, we are in a world that doubts the power of women, we are in a world that is fighting for gender equality, but seems that in the next 30 years the equality between male and female will be at an exciting level due to the much efforts human beings are adapting to ensure gender balance. However, how can this happen if a student completes university without knowing what Gender means? How will it be done to stop or fight gender issues if those who will make change in the coming few years now do not know anything about Gender, it is a question you also have to ask yourself, but asking yourself this question makes you also think about the solution, and what is that?

I did some research with some of the students at Mount Kenya University, one of the most prestigious universities in this country. The students I interviewed, they don't study mass media communication which means that they don’t study the subject of gender communication. I asked them one question, what is gender? Unsurprisingly, no one gave me a correct answer of gender, the reason why I wasn't surprised is because, even in our native language, there is no word for gender. Anyone who has not studied gender in school knows that gender means (Uburinganire) gender balance or equality, and it’s not true. 

This led me to ask these students if it is necessary to add this gender  communication course in their departments, and all of them replied YES, they said it is very important because you can’t  mention gender balance and identity without knowing gender itself. 

Some of the students I interviewed included; Oda and Gaudance all study General nursing, they told me that “Gender is having different sex, boys and girls”, i also talked to Manzi, Dan and Tresor who all study human resource, they said that “it is very complicated but we think its “uburinganire” and Yannick who studies information technology, didn’t really say what he thinks on  what is Gender, i had to explain for him. I finished with Dinai , who studies tourism, he told me “Gender has a broad meaning and many people are confused about it, for me Gender means what identifies men and women”.

I realised that, they have all given me almost the same answers, gender is difference in sex and uburinganire which means gender equality. I had to ask one of the lecturer at this university, Mr. Festus Irungu, i asked him if Gender Communication course should be taught in all departments, he replied "Yes, because it's an issue." "It's relevant to all professionals," he said. 

I think this has put pressure on university administrators and education officials in the country as a whole because if the future Rwandan generation is not taught gender communication today, it means that we must not expect any change in the coming years of fighting against violence and inequality between women and men. GENDER COMMUNICATION SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN ALL UNIVERSITIES AND IN ALL DEPARTMENTS AS WELL, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

So after all what is Gender?

Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviour, activities and attributes that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women. The distinct roles and behaviour may give rise to gender inequalities, i.e., differences between men and women that systematically favour one group. Gender norms, roles and relations influence people’s susceptibility to different health conditions and diseases and affect their enjoyment of good mental, physical health and wellbeing. They also have a bearing on people’s access to and uptake of health services and on the health outcomes they experience throughout the life-course.(WHO/Micka Perier)

Gender equality in health means that women and men have the same opportunities to realize their full rights and potential to be healthy, contribute to health development and benefit from the results. Achieving gender equality in health often requires specific measures to mitigate barriers. (WHO/Micka Perier)

So Gender is not “Uburinganire”, it is more of that because Gender has to do with communication and culture of a certain society, not only Gender equality.