Godeliève Mukasarasi (born 1959) is a

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

survivor, and

rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of l ...

activist. She created the organization Sevota to support widowed women and their children after the genocide. In 2018 she was given an

International Women of Courage The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

award for her work.

Background and activism

Mukasarasi was born in

Gitarama Muhanga (former Gitarama, renamed in 2006) is a city in Rwanda, in the Muhanga District, in Southern Province. The city is above sea level. Though officially part of the Southern Province, Muhanga is geographically in central Rwanda, approxi ...

Muhanga District Muhanga is a district (''akarere'') in Rwanda. Its administrative centre is located in the city of Muhanga (former Gitarama). Geography Muhanga Districtis one of the eight districts comprising the Southern Province. It is subdivided into tw ...

, where she went on to work as a social worker. Following the 1994

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

, she founded a group called SEVOTA, a support group to help widows and orphans to further their socio-economic rights. The organization emphasizes creation of "safe spaces" for survivor dialogues and physical recreation for children, and is based in the Taba commune. In 1996, her husband, Emmanuel Rudasingwa, and daughter were killed by an armed band. In her testimony to human rights investigators, Mukasarasi attributed the attack to

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...

s recently returned from

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, in retaliation for her husband's conversations with representatives of the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...

. Mukasarasi was intimidated, but she found four people who were willing to testify. She was given an

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

in 2018 for this and other work. Godelieve Mukasarasi with Melania Trump at the 2018 International Women of Courage Award

Recognition

Mukasarasi's work has won other national and international awards. In October 1996, she was given the Prize for Women's Creativity in Rural Life from the Women's World Summit Foundation, and she has also received the Nzambazamariya Vénéranda Award, a Rwandan prize for an individual promoting a positive image for women. In 2004, she was awarded the

John Humphrey Freedom Award The John Humphrey Freedom Award was presented annually by the Canadians, Canadian human rights group Rights & Democracy, to an organization or individual from any country or region of the world for exceptional achievement in the promotion of human r ...

of the

International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy), was created to be a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution. It was established by an act of the Canadian parliament in 1988 to "encourage and suppor ...

, which came with a cash grant of C$30,000 and allowed Mukasarasi to go on a speaking tour of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

cities to promote her work. Kathleen Mahoney, the chairperson of the centre's board, stated in a press release that “through her courage, her enthusiasm and her unwavering commitment, ukasarasihas succeeded in gaining the trust of victims of rape and sexual violence, particularly women who contracted HIV-AIDS, as well as in breaking the silence and in helping these women obtain justice."

Odina Desrochers Odina Desrochers (born May 25, 1951 in Joly, Quebec) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the '' Bloc Québécois'' in the House of Commons of Canada. He was first elected to the house in the 1997 Canadian federal election from the ri ...

praised Mukasarasi in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

on behalf of the

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

for her "key role in breaking the silence and documenting crimes of sexual violence for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukasarasi, Godelieve 1959 births Living people Rwandan human rights activists Rwandan women activists Women human rights activists Social workers People from Muhanga District Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award