WUNRN
AWID - Association for Women's
Rights in Development
RWANDA - POLITICAL CLIMATE FAVOURS
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
01/10/2010
Photo: USAID
Since the end of the 1994 genocide in
By
Kathambi Kinoti - AWID
Rwandan
President Paul Kagame was re-elected into office last September with an
overwhelming majority vote of well over 90 percent. Kagame played a central
role in putting an end to the horrific events of 1994 that saw between an
eighth to a fifth
The country’s
impressive 8.4 per cent annual economic growth rate has distinguished it from
its East African neighbours and analysts say that it was a major contributing
factor to Kagame’s re-election.
Political
will
Women’s
rights gains are another post-genocide victory for the country. Before the 2008
parliamentary elections, 49 per cent of legislators were women. After the
elections, the figure rose to 56 per cent, unprecedented- at least in modern
history- anywhere else in the world.
Sceptical
perspectives attribute this success in large part to a lower male population as
a result of the 1994 genocide. Even if this were the case initially – and many
opinions beg to differ- it would
not be sufficient to explain the increase in female legislators from the first
post-genocide elections to the most recent.
During
the reconstruction of
Enabling
frameworks
According
to Balikungeri, “Rwanda’s efforts have been focused around ensuring legal
frameworks and institutional mechanisms that work effectively to respond to the
needs of its citizens through social welfare,economic empowerment, peace and
security.”
She
acknowledges that as in all other African countries, deeply ingrained cultural
attitudes continue to disadvantage women and girls. Paradoxically,it is in
African countries that the greatest success in getting women into political
office, particularly through affirmative action has been registered.
Uganda,Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique also have substantial numbers of
women law-makers.
Rwanda’s
experience demonstrates that laws and policies can take the lead in changing
societal attitudes, and it challenges schools of thought that prefer to adopt a
slower approach in changing people’s minds. Even before the genocide, Rwanda
had a female Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana,who was assassinated in
April 1994 in one of a series of events that precipitated the genocide.
Nevertheless, women’s leadership was not the norm then. In Balikungeri’s
estimation the increased number of women parliamentarians in recent years has
sent out a powerful message that women can lead. “This is reflected in the
increased number of women entering into the arenas of government
administration,business and civil society,” she says. Presidential aspirant
Victoire Ingabire does not agree that the relatively large numbers of women
legislators have made a difference. IPS quotes her as saying: “There is still a
long way to go in translating women’s nominal weight into [an]effective
decision making share.”
Precedents
in international spaces
The
Rwandan genocide is almost synonymous with the widespread rape that women
survivors endured during the period. In coming to terms with their experiences,
they have worked to ensure that local and international justice mechanisms work
for women and address sexual violence as a manifestation of war that is often
downplayed. Their experiences helped shape international criminal
jurisprudence: It was at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1998
that rape was first recognised as an act of genocide and
torture and punished. Rwandan women‘s rights organisations, in
conjunction with international allies, were instrumental in achieving this
milestone: They successfully petitioned the Tribunal to accept the addition of
rape charges and evidence in one case that resulted in a conviction and stiff
sentence. The judgement in that case serves as a precedent to other
international war tribunals- and hopefully to regional and local courts.
Not all
good news
Paul
Kagame’s presidency has undoubtedly been positive for advancing the women’s
rights legislative and policy agenda. His economic development record is envied
by Rwanda’s neighbours. However his regime has been accused of silencing
dissent and thus violating a principal tenet of democracy. According to Freedom House,
despite a 2002 law that forbids state censorship, there are strong restrictions
on the media. Journalists face arbitrary and illegal arrests and detention.
In the
run-up to the 2010 presidential polls, Human Rights Watch chronicled incidents
that suggested a deliberate muffling of opposition to the incumbent President
Kagame.The only woman contender is cited as one of the
victims of this repression. During the genocide, some FM radio stations made
inflammatory broadcasts on the newly liberalised airwaves, and the hate media’s role in the genocide is widely
recognised. Rwanda is yet to find the perfect balance between responsible
journalism and censorship.
The
government justifies the close supervision of the media as a measure against a
repeat of the irresponsible broadcasts of Rwanda’s darkest period. However,
critics say that these measures were also calculated to ensure that Kagame’s
political opponents got little coverage before the elections.
The
Commonwealth Election Observer Group reported that "Overall the poll was well
organised and peaceful. However, there were some concerns regarding the lack of
transparency of the results consolidation, a lack of critical opposition voices
and problems faced by some media outlets."
In
response, Balikungeri says that media criticism is inevitable, not only in the
case of Rwanda’s presidential elections, but generally for all political
processes throughout Africa. She urges that more focus be directed towards the
positive energy that characterises much of post-genocide Rwanda. Acknowledging
that there is still a long way to go to achieve the comprehensive respect and
fulfillment of women’s rights,Balikungeri “advocates for community women’s
spaces” over and above political space. In her analysis, women need their own
spaces as a prerequisite to meaningfully participating in other spaces.
Rwanda
has made impressive strides towards equality for women. The newly re-elected
President and his government have consistently demonstrated the political will
to respect and fulfill women’s rights. Reports of restrictions on press
freedoms raise concerns about broader human rights and democratic values and
fears of a claw back on women’s rights.Nevertheless, Rwanda’s women are
celebrating and expecting more from the current political regime.