When Spéciose Nyinawabari was admitted to the Kigali Institute of Education to pursue biochemistry and sports four years ago, she did not imagine that one day she would become a top referee in Rwanda.

Her interest in sports, mainly football, attracted the attention of the Rwanda Football Federation, who employed her in 2009 as an assistant referee. Two years later, she was promoted to the position of international assistant referee.

Mrs Nyinawabari describes the difficulties she faced at the beginning of her career. Her husband, who lived in Rubavu district in Western Province, refused to accept her profession because he considered it a man’s job. Many in Rwanda viewed women in sports as deviants.

“I had to convince my husband to let me continue with the job because it was enabling me to make some money, which I needed to pay for my studies. I told him that I would quit once I was done with university,” said Mrs Nyinawabari.

However, she realised she was making good money as a referee and was enjoying the job.

It wasn’t until last year that her husband accepted that she had a good job that merited his support.

“During the celebrations for my promotion to the position of an international assistant referee with my colleagues and federation officials, my husband changed his mind. He saw how my colleagues and the officials respected me and realised that he also needed to respect my profession,” said Mrs Nyinawabari.

Now Mrs Nyinawabari wholly depends on her referee job to sustain herself and her family.

Her daily routine involves staying fit as regular tests are conducted to ensure she and the other referees are up to the task. She eats a balanced diet and has to avoid alcohol. She also runs 40 metres in 6.4 seconds, a speed required for male assistant referees.

Since she was employed as assistant referee, Mrs Nyinawabari has handled many matches for both women and men in the first and second divisions.

In international football, she remembers a match pitting Ethiopia against Tanzania in Addis Ababa late in June, which she describes as one of the most difficult matches she has ever handled.

Mrs Nyinawabari spends a lot of time interacting with football, first as a professional referee and as the head of sport at Ndera secondary school. However she does not support any local, regional or international teams, as referees must never show bias.

When she watches football matches, she does so with a critical eye. “A team may win and show great technique in their play but if they get red cards, their win becomes nothing in my eyes.”

To perform her duties more effectively, Mrs Nyinawabari has established herself in Kigali and is preparing to relocate her family from Rubavu by January next year.

“I would like this job to enable me to take my children to good schools,” said Mrs Nyinawabari.

She encourages other women to take up this career. According to Mrs Nyinawabari, for women to become good referees, they must work hard and not let discouragement put them off.

Her role models include Rwemarika Felicité, who had been fighting for women’s sport until the women’s national team was established in 2005.

Another role model is Celestin Ntagungira — Abega — who was a successful referee until he became president of Ferwafa (Fédération Rwandaise de Football Association) last year.