Women jurists who decided to stand for other women.
Muasi Telema — "Woman, rise" in Lingala — is a non-confessional, non-partisan non-profit (ASBL), founded in Kinshasa on 10 March 2020 by Congolese women lawyers specialized in family law, to help restore peace and balance in the family.
Our logo — the woman as provider and steady center of the family
"To care for a woman's health and education is to care for the development of a whole nation."
— from our founding preamble
Mwasi means "woman"; telema means "stand up, rise." Our name is an instruction to ourselves. Our logo — a woman carrying a basin of bread on her head — is how we see her: the provider and the steady center of the family. It is not decoration; it is our self-understanding.
The family is the basic cell of the nation — and the woman stands at its center.
From our founding preamble: the woman gives life and plays an essential role beside the man, in the family and in society. We saw ignorance of the law in family matters, the erosion of moral values, weakened parental authority, separations, and the abuses inflicted on a married woman — including after her husband's death — and the costly, repeated recourse to judges that many families could not afford.
We became convinced that the moral, legal and health education of women, together with good mediation of family matters, could restore peace and stability in families in difficulty, reduce the often-costly recourse to the courts, and fight ignorance of the law through knowledge — for the development of the whole community. So we decided to act.
To help women and families overcome legal ignorance, family conflict, emotional strain and economic fragility — through education, mediation, support and skills.
Families across the DRC where women know their rights, conflict is resolved with dignity, and no woman is left without the means to provide.
Five aims, taken straight from our statutes (Article 3).
- 01
Help women manage the stresses of life
A safe space to carry grief, fear and pressure without breaking — our Stand Strong work.
- 02
Teach civic & legal education in family matters
To overcome ignorance of the law — our Know Your Rights work.
- 03
Fight anti-values, beginning within the family
Replacing them with respect, responsibility and care — the thread through every program.
- 04
Support women who are alone and inactive
Widows and single mothers — by teaching them a trade and reinforcing sound values. Our Hands That Provide work.
- 05
Carry out family mediation
Resolving conflict without the cost and damage of the courtroom — our Family Mediation work.
What we hold to, in every room we enter.
Dignity
Women are not helpless; they are under-supported. We stand with, never above.
Confidentiality
What you tell us stays with us. Safety always overrides storytelling.
Honesty
We never promise court outcomes or quick money, and we label our own work by maturity.
Women-led
Founded and run by Congolese women jurists who know family law.
Non-confessional, non-partisan
No religious or political framing — by our statutes.
Community-rooted
We work in the language of the home, in the neighborhoods where families live.
Founded and signed by women jurists, in Kinshasa.
Our founding signatories, named in the statutes (10 March 2020). Meet our Founding President →
Founding signatories
- Ilonga Ayitoma Micheline
Founding President · read profile →
Mubolo José
Founding member
Kawadiko Léa
Founding member
Mukeny Tshaba Mamida
Founding member
Lobino Ndekanse James
Founding member
Ntumba Angel
Founding member
Our statutes list the committee roles and the signatories separately and do not map names to roles, so we don't either. Full profiles and photos will be added with each person's consent. [In Build]
How we are governed
The General Assembly
Our supreme organ — all effective members. It approves the activity reports, votes the annual budget, and elects (and can revoke) the committee.
The Steering Committee
The executive organ: a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary-Rapporteur, a Treasurer, and an Officer for Technical Affairs.
Kinshasa first, then Bandundu, then beyond.
Per Article 4 of our statutes, we work first in Kinshasa and its surroundings and in Bandundu, then — as needs and means allow — across the DRC, Africa and the wider world. Where we work →
A registered non-profit, accountable by design.
A non-confessional non-profit (ASBL) governed by DRC Law No. 004/2001 of 20 July 2001 on non-profit associations and public-utility establishments. Governance & transparency →