When we lift women, we lift generations

To commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day, I was invited by the EU Chamber of Commerce in Liberia to reflect on the theme “Give to Gain: Realising Women’s Potential.” As a Rwandan woman whose life was shaped by exile, resilience and the generosity of others, I found myself returning to my own journey.

For me, “Give to Gain” is not an abstract idea. It is something I have lived.

I know what it means when one person opens a door for a girl who cannot yet see her future. I know what becomes possible when someone offers encouragement just as hope is fading. When women and girls are given opportunity, support and freedom to choose their path, the gains reach far beyond one individual. Families gain. Communities gain. Nations gain.

When someone believes in you

I began life as a refugee girl in Uganda. I went to school in one pair of oversized shoes, bought large so they would last for years. My parents could not afford to send me to secondary school, and I began to believe there was no future for me beyond primary education. I refused to sit for my exams because I saw no reason to continue.

What I lacked was not ability. What I lacked was hope.

My teacher, Miss Robbinah, refused to let my story end there. She took me into her home, encouraged me, cared for me, and urged me to sit for the exams. She believed in me when I could no longer believe in myself. I passed with distinction and received a scholarship to continue my education.

That moment taught me a lesson that still guides me today: when you give to a girl, you help build a future.

My father loved me deeply, but like many men of his generation, he feared that my dreams were too big. He did not believe that a refugee girl should aspire too high. He imagined a smaller life for me, shaped by caution rather than possibility.

I continued through school on scholarships and eventually made it to university. Some professors openly questioned whether girls belonged in law school at all. I decided to leave.

My cousin found me as I was preparing to walk away and asked whether I truly wanted to leave, or whether I was being pushed out. I told him that I loved studying law. He simply said, “Then stay.”

And I stayed.

Later, during political tensions in Uganda, my parents were forced into refugee camps and I lost all trace of them for one year. I did not know where they were or whether they were safe. While other students went home during breaks, I remained behind with nowhere to go. A university warden allowed me to stay in student housing and encouraged me not to give up. Later, with support from UNHCR, I was able to find my parents living in extremely difficult conditions in a camp.

I wanted to quit. Life felt too heavy. But once again, someone helped me carry on.

That experience taught me another truth: we rise because someone, somewhere, chooses to hold us up. And when we are able to stand again, we must do the same for others.

Women rebuilding, women leading

As a young woman, I became involved in activism. We asked difficult questions about exile, dignity and the future of our people. Some warned that politics and public life were not spaces for women. But I believed then, and still believe now, that every generation must decide whether it will simply endure history or help shape what comes next.

After the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which claimed nearly one million lives, including more than 30 members of my own family, rebuilding required courage from across society. Women were central to that effort. They carried grief, trauma and responsibility, yet still chose to rebuild. They supported survivors, restored communities and helped shape a national future.

That history left a lasting impression on me. Give women space, and a nation gains strength. Give women opportunity, and a society gains resilience.

Years later, while serving in the United Nations, I met a 15-year-old girl in a refugee camp in another country. She had been forced into marriage at 12 and had suffered abuse. After hearing my story, she looked at me and asked, “Do you think I can ever make it like you?”

I told her, “If I could do it, you can too.”

She left that abusive marriage, returned to school, and today dreams of becoming a doctor. That encounter reminded me that encouragement matters. A story matters. A door opened at the right time matters.

A call to open more doors

For me, women’s empowerment has never meant forcing women into one model of success. True empowerment means freedom: freedom to lead, to study, to work, to care, and to choose one’s own path and be respected in that choice.

This is why “Give to Gain” matters not only to governments and international organizations, but also to businesses, employers and community leaders. They can mentor young women, open professional doors, support women’s leadership, and create workplaces where women can thrive in safety and dignity. These are not acts of charity. They are investments in stronger institutions, stronger economies and stronger societies.

I stand where I do today because people gave something to me along the way: belief, courage, shelter, guidance and opportunity.

That is why I believe so strongly that when we lift one woman, we do not lift her alone. We lift families. We lift communities. We lift generations.

As we mark International Women’s Day this year, that is both my gratitude and my call to action. Too many girls still grow up with talent but without opportunity, ambition but without support, dreams but without pathways.

Let us choose to mentor, to invest, to listen and to open doors. Let us make giving a way of life, knowing that in helping one person rise, we help build a better world for all.