More than two decades later, some have fizzled into oblivion while others have passed on.
July the 4th every year, Rwandans celebrate the day the Liberation Day –the day the then rebels Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) stopped the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and liberated the country from the genocidal government which perpetrated ethnic hate and violence among Rwandans.
The day marks the end of a civil war waged on President Juvenal Habyarimana’s government by Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), the armed wing of RPF-Inkotanyi on October 1, 1990, composed mainly of Tutsi refugees who sought to return home after more than 3 decades in exile.
The Rwandan Liberation struggle was not one to be taken lightly as it took years to win, and it claimed the lives of many including those of the heroes that the country celebrates every February 1, such as Maj. Gen Fred Rwigema, who led the struggle.
The liberation struggle which propelled the current government to power took years of planning and execution, with President Paul Kagame picking up the mantle from Maj Gen Rwigema to reorganise and lead the rebels to victory.
24 years later, Rwanda Today looks at some prominent women who fought alongside men to liberate the country, mobilised others or actively participated in the Arusha peace talks. They were fearless; they carried guns and braved the enemy fire.
More than two decades later, some have fizzled into oblivion while others have passed on. The list is not exhaustive.
Rose Kabuye
Rose Kabuye was of a notable rank in 1990 when the first phase of the struggle took place. As a major, she led hundreds of soldiers during the attacks of the Rwandan North. To date, she has scars in her right foot, scars from a bomb explosion.
In 1992, negotiations between RPF and the then government of Rwanda to bring about peace began and Kabuye proved to be a very skilful negotiator.
The following year she was given the role of Director of Welfare for RPF and put in charge of the war casualties and the sick.
As RPF included women who were fighting in battles, Kabuye became the leader of these women fighters and helped them to deal with the heartache.
A photo of a gun-toting Kabuye holding a little baby who had just been rescued is one of the most outstanding and iconic photos from the struggle.
After the liberation struggle, she went on to occupy several high ranking government positions, including as Mayor of City of Kigali, Member of Parliament and as the Director of State Protocol –a position she occupied until 2010.
Prior to her retirement, she had been promoted by Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) to Lieutenant Colonel –making her the highest ranking woman in the history of the Rwandan army.
Lt-Col (Rtd) Kabuye was arrested in Germany in November 2008 on French arrest warrants while on duty as Director of State Protocol, leading to a breakdown of relations between Rwanda and France but she was later released in December and charges lifted in March 2009.
Mrs Kabuye would later fall out of favour and dropped from government in 2010. She was mentioned among dissenting RPF cadres in 2014, along with her husband Maj (Rtd) David Kabuye, who was arrested in August 2014 on charges of possession of illegal fire arms and inciting public insurrections.
She has since kept a low profile and shifted focus to her private business.
Aloysia Inyumba
After the very first invasion that claimed the life of Fred Rwigema, RPF had lesser soldiers, fewer arms, and the funds were running low. Even at the beginning, the then-government of Rwanda had a lot more soldiers.
Aloysia Inyumba got involved in encouraging the Rwandan refugees to step up and fight for their home, thus increasing the forces of RPF.
Aloysia Inyumba also organised fundraising campaigns as an RPF finance commissioner. From the year 1987, she raised funds for RPF by convincing many to contribute: women to give away their jewel and men to offer their shoes. Inyumba then managed the funds by negotiating for cheap army goods.
After the liberation struggle, she took on important government position as Executive Secretary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), Governor of Kigali Ngali, Senator and Minister of Gender and Family Promotion.
She also retained her role as a commissioner in RPF. Inyumba died in December 2012, succumbing to throat cancer. President Kagame, who led tributes, described her as “a very good cadre”.
Agathe Uwilingiyimana
While she was not directly involved in the liberation struggle, former Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana is considered among the liberation icons and Rwandan heroines for standing up against the genocidal government, which cost her life.
In 1992 when she became the Minister of Education, she openly abolished the academic ethnic quota system that favoured the Hutu students over the Tutsi students.
Agathe Uwilingiyimana also led to the success of an agreement between the government of Rwanda, opposition parties and RPF, the Arusha Accords in August 1993. She would later be castigated by her own government for “siding with the enemy” and described as a traitor.
She openly opposed masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and alerted the word when the killings broke out on April 7 after the shooting of President Habyarimana’s plane.
She was killed on the same day by Presidential Guards who stormed her compound and overpowered UN Peacekeepers who were guarding her.
Connie Bwiza
A case of grace to grass, Connie Bwiza, is considered among the “liberation girls” –a group of girls who joined the liberation struggle not only to mobilise but also go on the frontline when the need arose.
The hitherto outspoken former Member of the Parliament was one of the women who went to war during the liberation struggle and was on the team that went to Arusha for the peace negotiations.
In June 2015 however, Ms Bwiza was caught in a scandal involving her husband Jean Marie Sekamana after she reportedly wrote letter supporting his asylum application in the United States. She resigned from Parliament after 15 years in the August house in July.
Ms Bwiza’s conduct was openly condemned by the ruling party RPF Inkotanyi Secretary General Francois Ngarambe and President Kagame during a party retreat. The former MP publicly apologised for her mistakes and reports indicate that she currently works at the party secretariat.
Rosemary Museminali, Mary Baine
Known as the ‘sisters in the struggle’, Rosemary Museminali and Mary Baine actively participated in the liberation struggle, mobilising and coordinating Rwandan refugees in Uganda.
After the liberation struggle, they both took up key government responsibilities, Museminali at the height of her career serving as Minister of Foreign affairs and Cooperation from 2005, a position she was dropped from in 2009.
She is currently the UNAIDS representative at the African Union (AU) and Economic Commission for African (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Previously she served in different ambassadorial and civil service roles.
Her sister Baine served as the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Commissioner-General until 2011 when she was appointed Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary but was dropped from the position in March 2014, amid accusations of dissent.
Her husband Col Tom Byabagamba, a former commander of the elite President Guard and also a member of the liberation struggle, was sentenced to 21 year on charges of on charges of inciting rebellion against the government, concealing evidence and disrespecting the national flag.
Ms Baine is currently the head of International Taxation and Technical Assistance at the Johannesburg-based African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF).
Annet Komuranga & Betty Kabana
The duo was among the women who literally got guns and got on the frontline alongside men. Komuranga retired in 1998 at the rank of sergeant while Kabana retired as a Corporal a year before.
Following their retirement from the army, the two women diverted into the banking sector, Komuranga working with Ecobank while Kabana worked with the armed forces bank CSS Zigama. Their current whereabouts are unclear.