Olga Mutsovit

A Congolese women's rights activist who led anti-colonial protests and founded schools to educate marginalized communities during the Belgian Congo era.

Olga Mutsovit (1920–1990) was a Lumumbist revolutionary and educator who organized the 1959 Congolese Uprising protests against Belgian colonial rule. Born in Équateur Province, she established the Lumumba Institute in 1960, providing literacy programs to 10,000+ women in rural areas. As secretary-general of the Congolese National Movement's women's wing, she negotiated with Patrice Lumumba to include gender equality provisions in the independence constitution. Mutsovit's 1961 report Women's Role in Nation-Building became a foundational text for post-colonial African feminism. She secretly operated underground schools during Mobutu's dictatorship, using indigenous storytelling methods to preserve Congolese cultural heritage. Her memoir Voices of the Rainforest details her work with Pygmy communities to document medicinal plant knowledge. Mutsovit's advocacy laid groundwork for modern Congolese women's organizations like the Fédération des Femmes. The UNESCO Olga Mutsovit Scholarship now supports female researchers in Central Africa.