As Rwandans prepare to vote in their first multiparty parliamentary elections, a new study by the Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace Policy Commission underscores the significant role women have played in that country’s democratic transition. Just nine years after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda is experiencing a new era of political democracy, where women are emerging as agents of social change. Once excluded from positions of influence, women are now encouraged to participate, whether as elected officials, community leaders, or entrepreneurs. In fact, most Rwandans now consider women’s involvement in civic life crucial to long-term stability and economic growth.

The Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace Policy Commission report, “Strengthening Governance: The Role of Women in Rwanda’s Transition,” explores the new efforts by Rwanda’s transitional government to increase women’s participation in politics, examines the significance of gender to governance, and highlights women’s contributions to civil society.

“Strengthening Governance: The Role of Women in Rwanda’s Transition”

Presentation date: Monday, September 29, Washington, DC
Time: 3:00-4:30 PM
Where: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Address: 1800 K Street NW 4th Floor Conference Rm

Presentation date: Tuesday, September 30, New York City, NY
Time: 12:00-1:30 PM
Where: Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Address: Law Firm of Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel, 919 3rd Ave., NY

Background
Women’s capacity to lead became evident after the Rwanda genocide, when the Government of National Unity faced a surviving population that was 70 percent women and girls. The women immediately worked to repair their country’s economic and emotional state. They buried the dead, built shelters, and found homes for nearly 500,000 orphans. Today women are 54 percent of the adult population and a majority of working adults. They are heading 35 percent of households, raising the next generation, and producing the majority of this rural nation’s agricultural output.

For many in the international community, the government’s call for democracy has been eclipsed by the reality of a predominantly one-party system. But the government’s policies to decentralize decision-making have broadened public involvement in politics; women’s participation, especially, has increased dramatically.

A new constitution guarantees that women serve in 30% of decision-making posts in government, and reserves 24 of 80 parliamentary seats for women. Rwanda also created new local councils, innovative voting mechanisms, and a government ministry to involve women and disenfranchised groups. These include:

1. Women’s councils and women-only elections. These grassroots women’s councils are elected by women only. The head of the women’s councils holds a seat on the general local council to represent women’s concerns.

2. A triple balloting system guaranteeing the election of women to a percentage of seats at the sector and district levels. Each voter completes three ballots: a general ballot, a women’s ballot, and a youth ballot. After an indirect election much like an electoral college, a district council composed of at least 20% women is chosen.

3. The Ministry for Gender and Women in Development and gender posts within all levels of government. These positions address issues related to women and to ensure that all policies are sensitive to different needs and conditions of women and men.

These concrete steps to involve women in Rwanda’s nascent democracy were created under the guidance of the women themselves. They helped draft the new constitution, insisted on the inclusion of women and youth in all levels of government, and formed the first cross-party caucus in parliament. They also initiated programs to address the root causes and effects of the genocide, laying a foundation for reconciliation.

According to case study author and Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace Policy Commission Associate Director Elizabeth Powley, “Rwanda has experienced tremendous change in the public sphere regarding women. At all levels in the country, few doubt that women’s participation in governance is a pillar of longer-term democratization.”

Rwandan women have entered the political sphere in unprecedented numbers and in unprecedented ways. But international support is critical to sustain that involvement. The country faces enormous challenges: mass poverty, illiteracy, homelessness, and HIV/AIDS. Powley recommends that international donor groups help fund the women’s councils and train women in leadership and governance. “Rwanda’s efforts to involve women in government is a model for the inclusion of women in other post-conflict societies,” says Powley. “The presence and participation of women should be a key indicator by which the international community measures good governance and democratization.”

Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace is an initiative of Hunt Alternatives Fund. The Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace Policy Commission is conducting a series of case studies to document women’s contributions to peace processes across conflict areas worldwide. The Rwanda study is the first of three field-based case studies that examine women’s contributions to post-conflict governance. The next study is about Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Fighters: The Experience of Women and Girls in Sierra Leone.

To read the complete Inclusive Security: Women Waging Peace Policy Commission report, “Strengthening Governance: The Role of Women in Rwanda’s Transition,” please go to www.WomenWagingPeace.net.