Where have all the (cow)girls gone?

Okay, I don’t even like that song, so to all of you, and myself, I apologize.

But yesterday it occurred to me, I’m surrounded by men.

Occasionally I meet women in Rwanda; there are a few who work in the office our living room hosts by day, and they are amazing and wonderful. If I ride the buses at the right time of day, I sit next to them going home from work.

But yesterday, as we walked along Lake Kivu, I thought, “All those kids swimming look like boys. All the people sitting on the lake’s edge are…boys. Why aren’t girls swimming?”

It’s not that there aren’t women around. There are–and usually they’re wearing beautiful clothes I envy–but they’re quiet. They don’t often approach me; they don’t often make a ruckus. You might see women, but always, you’re hearing men.

Speak up, ladies. We need you.

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1 Comment

  • Ken Urban says:

    Hi Jina, I stumbled upon your blog this morning. I am a playwright and my new play about Rwanda is being read at the Huntington Theatre in Boston next week. (I teach at Harvard.) There are a few Kinyarwandan phrases in the play and I want to make sure I can teach the director and actors in a short period how to say them. Is there any chance you could help me? I would be eternally grateful.

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