{"id":2544,"date":"2025-11-01T10:07:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T10:07:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/?p=2544"},"modified":"2025-12-05T12:52:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T12:52:47","slug":"story-of-impact-from-exclusion-to-empowerment-gaudence-mushimiyimanas-journey-to-build-an-inclusive-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/story-of-impact-from-exclusion-to-empowerment-gaudence-mushimiyimanas-journey-to-build-an-inclusive-rwanda\/","title":{"rendered":"Story of Impact: From Exclusion to Empowerment \u2013 Gaudence Mushimiyimana\u2019s Journey to Build an Inclusive Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In Kigali, Rwanda, Gaudence Mushimiyimana<\/strong> has turned personal adversity into a movement for change. After acquiring a physical disability as a young woman, she experienced firsthand the social exclusion and discrimination that women with disabilities often face. But instead of letting those barriers define her, Gaudence transformed her experience into a mission to redefine inclusion for women and girls with disabilities in Rwanda and across Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, she serves as the Executive Director of the National Union of Women with Disabilities of Rwanda (UNABU)\u2014a strong member organization of Disabled Women in Africa (DIWA). Her story is one of  empowerment, and the belief that no woman should be left behind because of her disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI did not choose disability, but I chose to act,\u201d says Gaudence. \u201cEvery woman with a disability has potential, what she needs is opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Under Gaudence\u2019s leadership, UNABU has evolved into a dynamic movement promoting equality and inclusion through community empowerment and policy advocacy. The organization supports women with disabilities to access education, start businesses, and take on leadership roles in their communities. It also runs initiatives to combat gender-based violence (GBV) and to strengthen the confidence and visibility of women and girls with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UNABU\u2019s programs reach hundreds of women every year, offering training in entrepreneurship, rights awareness, and advocacy. Beyond individual empowerment, the organization also influences public policy working closely with government institutions and civil society to ensure that national laws and policies uphold the rights of women with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaudence\u2019s voice has reached international platforms. At the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69)<\/strong> in New York in 2025, she spoke on DIWA\u2019s high-level panel \u201cPowerful Yet Overlooked: African Women, Diversity, and Inclusion in Beijing +30.\u201d<\/em> She highlighted the need for stronger collaboration between feminist and disability movements, urging global actors to move beyond tokenism toward systemic inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWomen with disabilities are not asking for sympathy\u2014we are demanding equality,\u201d she told the audience. \u201cWhen inclusion becomes part of every agenda, every policy, and every budget, that is when justice begins.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Gaudence connects women-led disability organizations from across the region, building solidarity and ensuring their voices are represented in continental advocacy spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her recent work also bridges gender equality and environmental justice. Through UNABU, she is championing inclusive climate action and disaster preparedness, ensuring that women with disabilities are equipped with knowledge and skills to participate in climate resilience and community leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cInclusion is about more than rights\u2014it\u2019s about survival and sustainability,\u201d she reflects. \u201cIf climate change responses don\u2019t include women with disabilities, then they\u2019re incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

From exclusion to empowerment, Gaudence\u2019s journey is a reminder that change begins when women with disabilities shape the narrative of their own lives. Through UNABU and DIWA, she continues to create spaces where women with disabilities not only belong\u2014but lead, thrive, and inspire transformation across Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Kigali, Rwanda, Gaudence Mushimiyimana has turned personal adversity into a movement for change. After acquiring a physical disability as a young woman, she experienced firsthand the social exclusion and discrimination that women with disabilities often face. But instead of letting those barriers define her, Gaudence transformed her experience into a mission to redefine inclusion for women […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impactstories","category-neque"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2544"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2745,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2544\/revisions\/2745"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.shakesolutions.net\/diwa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}