About a week ago, Jacqueline Kamanzi Masabo was handed the Executive Secretary of the National Women Council position by Christine Tuyisenge, who had been at the helm of the council since 2008. Kamanzi, who was previously not well known, comes to the office at a time when efforts of women empowerment and gender equality have begun to bear fruits in terms of women participation in national development. Collins Mwai spoke to her for insights on how she plans to walk in her predecessor’s shoes. Excerpts;

What issues do you plan to prioritise during your term in office?

I have a number of them; we want to empower the women at the grassroots level. We plan to hear from them and jointly come up with ways to address their challenges and find ways to improve their lives. First of all we want to empower them economically, if you are not economically empowered even if you have all the rights, they won’t have much impact. Rights do not have purchasing power. We want to see women economically empowered.

We want to expose these women to the opportunities available. There are numerous opportunities they can participate in and there are funds from various government organisations, all they need is support. We want them to be part of the economic wave that is taking over the country at the moment.

I am soon starting a programme to empower street vendors; we are looking for ways to help them start co-operatives, empower them with business management skills, and give startup capital. Over 600 women are expected to benefit by the end of March 2015.

Another priority area is to call for women to improve in areas such as hygiene, family planning, reproductive health. These will in turn improve the quality of their lives.Speaking of terms how long will you be around?

I do not have a term in office, it is a political appointment. For political appointments, you either move to other roles or go on to carry out other duties after giving your contribution.

According to you, do you think women were sidelined by society, hence the need for women empowerment programmes?

Society did not hate or sideline women, but at some point along the way, society began seeing them as weak, vulnerable and incapable. In effect it created a disadvantage for women and women were seen as inferior. Now we have platforms to show that women are as capable as the rest of the society, we do not ask for an easy way out, we only want access to opportunities, and we will pursue them just like everybody else. This is in all areas from education to business.In pursuit of your goals and ambitions, who do you plan to work with closely?

We are working with the Ministry of Local Government as they have a way to coordinate with people at the grassroots and the local level. We plan to work closely with development partners such as the civil society, local and international NGOs, UN and other stakeholders whose activities revolve around women affairs.

Almost everywhere you go, people are toasting to how far women have come over the years, by your light, what has been the biggest milestone?

A lot has been done as far as women empowerment and gender equality is concerned. Women’s place is no longer in the kitchen, they have access to education, they actively take part in businesses, civil service, administration, politics, among other areas. I think we have come far. However I think we have even gone further as far as laws and policies that discriminate women or hold women back especially those around inheritance and ownership of property go. Now women can inherit and own property as men can.There is a trend that is fast catching up, feminism. Are you part of the movement? What are your thoughts on feminism?

I do not believe in or promote feminism as a way to gender equality. We would like to promote women to be just like their male counterparts without creating scenarios of one group against the other. That would be creating a battle of sexes or negative discrimination. What I would like to see is women who have been lagging behind be supported to join the rest of society, without competing against men. We want men to complete in women empowerment; we want an empowered society where no one should fail for the other to succeed.

Considering you are stepping in quite a big office, (both literally and figuratively) what is your background professionally?

I was a director at the litigation unit in the Public Service Commission. This was the position that gave conclusions concerning the conduct of people in the public service and human resource disputes that may arise between employees and supervisors at work places. I learnt a lot from it especially regarding public service management and human resource management.

I was also actively involved in the civil society championing for human rights, economic empowerment, peace and security. I was working as a volunteer. I believe in human rights that go hand in hand with human development, improvement of rights should come with improvement of quality of life.

Don’t you think you look a little too young for your job and title?

(Laughs). I am 35 years old. I am already a mucekuru (old woman). I am married with three children; my firstborn is over seven while the last one is slightly over two.

How do you balance family and work?

My former job was equally demanding, but because I loved volunteering in civil service duties, I made time for it. If you are passionate about something, there will always be time for it. There is always enough time if you use it effectively doing things you like. I still have to make sure I do not get so connected with work that I forget my family. Even now I will keep doing the same.

What do you think every young girl should know?

Freedom should come with responsibility.

collinsmwai@gmail.com