Genocide, Evil and Human Agency: the Concept of Evil in Rwandan Explanations of the 1994 Genocide

Evil, conceived of as the opposite of good, is defined by a moral system and thus cannot be abstracted as a portable theoretical concept to be applied cross-culturally. David Parkin solved this problem by assuming a “common awareness of evil acts” and then raising “the question of how and to what extent certain kinds of behavior and phenomenon come to be identified by this or a comparable term” (Parkin: 1985, p. 224). Following this same methodology, this chapter explores the ways Rwandans made sense of their experiences of violence during the civil war (1990-1994) and genocide (April – June 1994) by mobilizing the concept of “evil.” Based on several years of ethnographic research in urban and rural Rwanda, I found that Rwandans mobilize three competing conceptions of evil to understand genocidal violence: the personified presence of Satan who inspired humans to perpetrate evil acts, genocide perpetrators as evil by nature, and genocide perpetrators as possessed by Satan or evil spirits. These understandings emerge from the layered systems of religious belief (competing indigenous systems of religious belief and practice, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and abarokore (born-again Christian) movements) that form the cosmological system that frames good and evil for Rwandans. The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, counters these understandings of evil and assert that the evil acts of the genocide were a result of humans’ free will, greed, and their rejection of Christian values

Women Have Found Respect: Gender Quotas, Symbolic Representation and Female Empowerment in Rwanda

Building on previous studies of women’s formal, descriptive, and substantive representation in Rwanda, this article examines women’s symbolic representation, meaning the broader social and cultural impact of the greater representation of women in the Rwandan political system. It explores the cultural meanings of gender quotas by analyzing popular perceptions of women, of women’s roles in politics and society more broadly, and of changing cultural practices vis-à-vis gender. Data were gathered over twenty four months of ethnographic research conducted between 1997 and 2009, and ongoing documentary research. The study finds that although Rwandan women have made few legislative gains, they have reaped other benefits, including increased respect from family and community members, enhanced capacity to speak and be heard in public forums, greater autonomy in decision-making in the family, and increased access to education. Yet, there have also been some unexpected negative consequences such as increased friction with male siblings, male withdrawal from politics, increased marital discord, and a perception that marriage as an institution has been disrupted by the so-called “upheaval” of gender roles. Most significantly, increased formal representation of women has not led to increased democratic legitimacy for the government

Gender Balance and the Meanings of Women in Governance in Post-Genocide Rwanda

Across Africa, many countries have taken initiatives to increase the participation and representation of women in governance. Yet it is unclear what meaning these initiatives have in authoritarian, single-party states like Rwanda. Since seizing power in 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front has taken many steps to increase the participation of women in politics such as creating a Ministry of Gender, organizing women’s councils at all levels of government, and instituting an electoral system with reserved seats for women in the national parliament. This article explores the dramatic increase in women’s participation in public life and representation in governance and the increasing authoritarianism of the Rwandan state under the guise of ‘democratization.’ The increased political participation of women in Rwanda represents a paradox in the short-term: as their participation has increased, women’s ability to influence policy-making has decreased. In the long-term, however, increased female representation in government could prepare the path for their meaningful participation in a genuine democracy because of a transformation in political subjectivity. The lasting repercussions of the 1994 genocide, the material realities of life in post-genocide Rwanda, and the greater representation of females in public life and political office have promoted a great deal of change in cultural and social conceptions of gender roles. With these changes has come a greater acceptance of women in positions of authority and of women as independent agents in the public sphere. This transformation in political subjectivity could prepare women to take a meaningful role in government should a real transition to democracy take place in Rwanda

Gender Quotas, Democracy and Women’s Representation in Africa: Some Insights from Democratic Botswana and Autocratic Rwanda

The ‘fast track’ approach for increasing women’s representation in politics through the adoption of electoral gender quotas has replaced the ‘incremental approach’ (waiting for cultural, political and socioeconomic developments over time) in recent years. Scholars have disagreed whether increasing women’s representation in sub-Saharan Africa where legislatures are weak and executives are strong is meaningless or may even undermine democracy; or increasing women’s representation results in significant substantive or symbolic representation effects. This article compares two divergent cases: Botswana, a stable multiparty democracy in southern Africa and Rwanda, an increasingly authoritarian single party dominant state in east Africa. In Botswana, gender quota campaigns have raised awareness but have been unsuccessful in achieving quotas, and women’s parliamentary representation is low and continues to fall. In Rwanda, a constitutional gender quota, including reserved seats combined with voluntary party quotas for women have resulted in a majority female lower house of parliament—the only such parliament in the world. These cases suggest that a democratic state is not necessarily more likely to adopt gender quotas or have more women in parliament than a less democratic one and that there are other factors that are more important in determining both. Moreover, in single party dominant systems with limited democracy, like Rwanda, elected women are able to represent women\u27s interests. And campaigns to adopt quotas, even when unsuccessful as in democratic Botswana, can contribute to substantive and symbolic representation effects even with only limited descriptive representation. Thus, the conditions under which and the ways in which women\u27s interests are represented must be understood broadly

Political settlements, women’s representation and gender equality: The 2008 gender-based violence law and gender parity in primary and secondary education in Rwanda

This paper explores the ways in which power and politics shape the realisation of women’s rights and gender equity in Rwanda. In the past decade, Rwanda has become a global leader in increasing women’s inclusion in politics and in promoting and securing women’s rights. This paper considers legislative reform, policy formulation and policy implementation in two areas: gender-based violence and gender parity in education. The paper injects a gender analysis into the political settlement theoretical framework and seeks to answer two questions: (1) how do women and other actors (including formal and information institutions, powerbrokers and other key decision-makers) negotiate within Rwanda’s dominant-party form of political settlement? And (2) how does Rwanda’s political settlement shape gender equity policy outcomes? This study found that Rwanda’s success in terms of women’s rights is the result of its vibrant women’s movement, the political will of the dominant party, the expertise of professional technocrats in the government administration, and a system of performance contracts, which shapes bureaucratic behaviour through to the frontline of service delivery. These findings are significant because they highlight the importance of a highly qualified, professional cadre in government and of accountability within government administration for securing women’s rights

Culture, Practice, and Law: Women’s Access to Land in Rwanda

Women constitute the majority of the Rwandan population and labour force, particularly in agriculture, but have faced substantial constraints on their participation in the economy and society. The discriminatory laws and practices in education, employment, inheritance and finance have marginalized women. Consequently, the majority of women in Rwanda remain poor and vulnerable. (Rwanda Development Indicators, Ministry of Finance and Planning, 1999)