Where Women Rule: Rwanda's Parliament

On September 16, 2008 a big event happened in Africa. For the first time in history, a country elected a female-dominated government. Where did this happen? In a small country in the middle of Africa: Rwanda.

Women now hold 44 out of the country's 80 parliamentary seats, which sets a second record for Rwanda for having the most women in parliament. Rwanda's outgoing parliament was 48.8 percent women, the highest rate at the time, but the new parliament is 55 percent. This may be due in part to a new constitution adopted in 2003 which ensures women at least 30 percent of seats in parliament and other governmental institutions. But because the constitution only guarantees 24 parliamentary seats for women, many women won seats without help of the quota system -- a huge step toward legitimizing women's place in politics where some doubted female MP's qualifications and claimed women only held those positions because of the quota, not because they deserved them.

Rwanda, which has traditionally been a male-dominated culture, has gone through tremendous growth after the 1994 genocide in terms of gender issues. According to Speciosa Mukandutiye, the president of the Forum of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians, "Gender equality is not deep rooted in our culture. Traditionally, women were supposed to be housewives. Their role was to take care of their husbands and produce children. It was a shame to appear in public and make your comments...Our current policy is that that has to change: women have to contribute to national income. That is among the priorities of our forum: to make women come out and show their talents and leave behind this behavior of depending on others and to build their spirit of self-reliance."

Women became more prominent in Rwanda after the genocide which left several thousand women widowed and created a population that was 70 percent female. "Women immediately assumed roles as heads of household, community leaders and financial providers, meting the needs of devastated families and communities," according to a 2003 case study on women in Rwanda. Furthermore, Rwanda's ruling party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) has been committed to gender equality as many of its members were once exiled and are therefore sensitive to issues of discrimination. The party was also a former rebel group, a situation which forced them to understand the power of women on its side.

Besides finding news articles I explored the blogosphere and found several blog posts commenting on this extraordinary occurrence. One blog, called The Poor Mouth by Jams O'Donnell comments on the amount of female representation in government in Rwanda compared to the rest of the world. I found it extremely interesting to see where many of the leading democracies and developed countries stood in comparison. (Many were far behind Rwanda.) The second blog that caught my attention was the more controversial feministing.com, with a post written by Samhita. The purpose of the second blog is to discuss and create awareness for women's issues around the world. The particular post naturally holds a very pro-feminine outlook on the event in Rwanda and discusses how and why it occurred, and what it might mean for the future. My comments on these blogs may be found through the provided links and are also copied below for convenience.



The Poor Mouth: Women Outnumber Men in Rwandan Parliament
Comment:

Thank you for your post about women in Rwandan parliament. I am happy to see that people around the world are interested in the situation in Africa and the improvements being made. So often we hear sad stories about the continent and it is refreshing that there is finally attention focused on the good in Africa, and in this case, the increasing empowerment of women in Rwanda.

As you mentioned that the election of 44 female MPs is “an important landmark” and partly due to the quota system, do you feel that the quota system is a legitimate force? In other words, I’ve heard some argument that because 24 seats in Parliament have to be reserved for women, many of the women are not as qualified as their male counterparts who won their seats in the direct election. I am interested to see how people around the world react to this news; whether they disregard it as women who didn’t technically “deserve” the seat, or whether they praise this new development.

I appreciate that you listed the amount of female representation in politics by nation, as it shows how immense of an accomplishment Rwanda has made compared to other nations and how far the world in general has yet to come. Many consider gender equality a “Western” idea implemented in developed countries, though you have shown this idea to be false. It is shocking that a newly-developing country, such as Rwanda, can be so much further ahead in integrating women in politics than developed democracies such as Ireland or the United States. I would like to note again that 55% of Rwanda’s Parliament is female compared to 19.5% of MPs in Britain, about 16% of Senators or Congressmen in the US, and only about 13 of the TDs in Ireland. By comparing the amount of women in politics around the world, you have created a different angle to these reports and have included the whole world in this pursuit of gender equality.

Thanks again for your information. I have included a link to my blog which focuses on women’s issues in Africa. Cheers!



Feministing: Rwandan Women Voted in as Majority in Parliament
Comment:

Your post about women in Rwanda’s Parliament made a lot of great points. I agree in part with the statement, “It is correct that this [women dominating Rwandan politics] should be so,” because while I believe it is correct women should have power in the government, I do not think it is 100% right that Rwanda should have the highest percentage of women in parliament in the world. You explain why Rwanda should have the highest percentage making a case that Rwanda needs a “woman’s touch” in these times of reconciliation and reconstruction, but since men had a huge part in the 1994 genocide (as both perpetrators and victims) it is good for them to be involved in the healing of the country as well. By no means am I diminishing the importance of women in politics, I think that is essential, though I do believe political power should be equal between men and women.

You also mention that women are fit for this position in Rwanda, “…in part because they have not been implicated in the violence that has marked the country's murky past to the same extent as men.” However, there may be more reasons behind the Rwandan women’s ascent to power. Some will acknowledge that because the population was 70% female directly after the genocide, women were forced to take on the duties of both men and women. Women became responsible for not only their families, but their communities, livelihood, income, and so on. Women became leaders during this time as they “stepped up to the plate” to help Rwanda survive. For that reason, women were positioned to take on more power. It is also important to note that the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which took control after the genocide and has remained in power, has been a gender sensitive party. This is perhaps due to the fact that as exiles (before the genocide), they understood discrimination, and since they were a rebel group they were aware that including women would double their numbers. So, while women may be in power partly because they were not as involved in the violence (though that is still debatable) there are other reasons behind this extraordinary case of women holding a majority of political seats.

I do agree that this is a great opportunity for women -- I hope that more of the international community will hear the news and follow suit! Thank you for your thoughts on this interesting topic. I have included a link to my blog I have just started which focuses on women’s issues in Africa.