Rwanda: African Gender Activists Applaud Female Dominated Parliament
Grace Kwinjeh
The New Times Kigali via All Africa
Sep 18, 2008
The just ended parliamentary elections held in Rwanda have dealt patriarchy a heavy blow. Rwandan women now dominate the legislative assembly with a historic figure of 56.25 percent, at the time of going to press.
Rwanda is the first African country to comply with the African Union's principle of gender equality, based on the notion of equality between the female and male sexes.
The Protocol to The African Charter On Human And People's Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa states: "Discrimination against women" means any distinction, exclusion or restriction or any differential treatment based on sex and whose objectives or effects compromise or destroy the recognition, enjoyment or the exercise by women, regardless of their marital status, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all spheres of life."
The Protocol further states on women's participation in the political and decision-making processes: "Women are represented equally at all levels with men in all electoral processes."
An excited minister for Gender and Family Promotion, Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, could only thank Rwandans for voting wisely.
"I can only thank the people of Rwanda and a visionary leadership, who have judged it necessary to include women in Rwanda's leadership."
African feminists and gender activists welcomed this news with much jubilation, given the continents reputation of being a bastion of retrogressive patriarchal practices and tendencies. African men believe they have God ordained right to power, thus the lack of political will to promote women.
Patriarchal notions challenged by the African women's movement which has fought over the years for the dignity of the African woman, demanding her rightful place in a society that has often relegated her to second class status.
The outcome of Rwanda's elections shatters the myth that women belong in the traditional domains - the home as housewives, mistresses, care-givers and all the 'cultural' baggage they have had to carry.
African gender activists and feminists told The New Times, that it was mainly because of a political will by Rwanda's leadership that the women have broken the glass ceiling in politics and decision-making.
The Rwandan government is one of the few African governments that have institutional mechanisms that secure women's positions at all levels of decision-making.
Women's Rights coordinator for the international NGO ActionAid International, feminist Mary Wandiya, currently attending a Feminist Forum in Kampala, said this was good news for African women.
"I think the increase is very good in closing the gender gap in parliament. I think the blockage to women's political power in Africa has been a lack of political will, the realization by the Rwanda that we cannot go far by marginalizing the other half of the population is remarkable."
She said Rwanda was in line with the spirit in the AU law and was challenging other African governments to walk the talk and deliver for women.
"Those who are in power must stop blaming the women, for failing to get into leadership."
Referring to Rwanda's President Paul Kagame under whose leadership the women have made great strides into traditional male domains: "I will not call him a patriarch, he has been very consistent in his politics when it comes to women's rights. He is a male who has demonstrated the need to pursue that struggle. He has put in place progressive laws that protect and promote women." She said citing Rwandan laws on Land and Inheritance.
South-African based journalist Charlene Smith said: "Rwanda is showing the way by electing excellence in female leadership into political power at a time when the rest of the world is showing declining numbers of female representatives. In many other instances, for example in the United States. Those women elected to very high positions- and here I talk of Sarah Palin specifically- reflect poorly on female excellence."
Yaliwe Clarke a lecturer with the University of Cape-Town based Africa Gender Institute, cautioned on the need to look beyond numbers: "More than 50 percent women representation is fantastic. It has been predicted that if you have a critical mass of women in power then things can change."
She however said it was not automatic that all the women elected believe in gender equality: "Will they address issues to do with gender-based violence, for instance?" she asked.
The numbers she also cautioned could result in actual changes if the political party backing the women also believes in their cause.
Then the numbers will result in actual change."
Some of the African countries with higher numbers of female parliamentary representation, though less than 40 percent are, Mozambique, South-Africa, Tanzania and Senegal.
Though of South-Africa, Smith says: "In South Africa those women elected to parliament in terms of a 30% quota have shown that quota's do not work - women elected to positions in terms of quotas respond to the party boss, usually a man, and not to their responsibilities to constituents especially women and vulnerable communities. We need to learn more, in every country in the world, from the models Rwanda is presenting in many areas of political life."
On the women's electoral college (30 percent seats are reserved for women, apart from those that political parties field), minister Mujawamariya said it was a necessary step to the attainment of gender equality.
"You cannot talk of equity before you have equality. And so you need mechanisms to raise the previously marginalized women, so they are at par with the men, then you can talk of equity."
On the criticism that in the process of promoting women leadership chaff finds itself in strategic positions of power, the minister said: "To know what Rwandans need one does not need a PHD. All those MP's know our past, they know our vision for the future. They know the political chemistry Rwanda needs to move forward."
She said the female legislators would be the engine that ensures that laws put in place especially those that affect women are upheld; they will thus be the vanguard of the women's empowerment drive.
Rwanda recently adopted the Gender-Based Violence Act, it also has progressive laws on inheritance and land ownership by women, "they will over-see the implementation of these laws," said Mujawamariya.
