stephannie Adinde
From Genocide to Gender Parity: Rwanda's Experience
Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Nicaragua and Rwanda are very distinct countries, yet they share one striking similarity; their commitment to promoting gender parity. According to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Gender Gap Index, these countries are at the forefront when it comes to closing the gap between men and women. The index ranks countries based on the degree of female participation in the economy, their health, their educational attainment and their political empowerment.
Alongside Namibia, Rwanda is the only African Country to make the top 10 and has been labelled as the best place to be a woman in the continent.
1994 was an extremely dark year for Rwanda. It experienced one of the most brutal and bloodiest genocides in modern history. In the span of 100 days, close to a million Tutsi's lost their lives and over 350,000 women were victims of sexual abuse. In July 1994, Paul Kagame’s party, Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), ended the genocide and regained control of the country. Kagame has been President since 2000 till date.
Against all odds, this Central East African nation did not let its history define its future. Today, Rwanda has evolved and greatly healed from its traumatic past and has now become the paradigm of growth and development in Africa.
Perhaps, the most impressive accomplishment of Rwanda is that they have made significant progress towards closing the wide gender gap that existed pre-genocide. The government gave women an opportunity to excel and lead; a rarity for a post-conflict African nation.
The Man Responsible
Paul Kagame, the current President of Rwanda and the man largely responsible for rebuilding the country post-genocide, played a fundamental role in fostering gender equality in the nation.
Conflict affects men and women differently. Men tend to be at the epicentre, while women remain in the background providing support, healthcare and food to wounded soldiers - a role that they mirror in their homes. Rwanda was so torn after the genocide and Kagame realised that male labour was insufficient to restructure and rebuild the nation. The war had claimed so many male lives, leaving females as the majority - 70% of the population.
Faced with the huge task of ensuring the survival of their families, women began to speak up and step up. They clamoured for equality within their marriages and in the labour market. This development fuelled Kagame to pass a new decree in 2003, stating that 30 percent of parliamentary seats should be reserved for women. The Rwandan parliament is the only one in the world where women outnumber men; with women holding 64% of the seats.
