By Belinda Nicholas, NWPC Political Planning and Action Intern
This East African country may take you by surprise. Rwanda, home to nearly 13 million people, leads the world with the greatest number of female representatives in Parliament. Today, an admirable 61% of officials in Rwanda’s legislature, in both upper and lower houses, are women. Rwanda comfortably leads the world in greatest female representation, with Cuba’s Parliament comprising 53% women, being the closest competitor. In comparison, women constitute a regrettable 27% of the United States House of Representatives, 24% of the United States Senate, and 0% of U.S. Presidencies. Rwanda’s rise in female representation began in 2003, when the newly adopted Rwandan Constitution established a 30% minimum of elected officials to be female. With greater representation, female legislators pass legislation that promotes gender equality like permitting female land inheritance, abbreviating the pay gap, and channeling resources to young girls’ education.
While some contend the mandatory minimum of female representatives is undemocratic, others argue the 30% minimum protects a disadvantaged class, in turn creating a more democratic society for all of its citizens.
Despite its superior numbers in female leadership today, it took extraordinary circumstances to restructure Rwandan society to enable such growth. Prior to 1994, Rwanda grievously oppressed women, enacting extreme bans that prevented women from speaking in public and prohibited women from opening a bank account without their husband’s permission. The 1994 Rwandan Civil War, however, changed everything. The war fought between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups left the country in shambles. Rwanda lost a staggering 800,000 citizens in three months, most of whom were men. The aftermath left 60 to 70% of the Rwandan population as women. With no alternative to rehabilitate their country, women stepped up, securing jobs in all corners of the workforce, including labor and military occupations. Rwanda’s recovery was contingent on women rebuilding its economy, and it has not looked back. Rwanda’s restored Constitution in 2003 codified men and women as equal members of society and reserved 30% of Parliamentary seats for women, valuing women as equal members in society. What began as a survival mechanism for Rwandan convalescence, evolved into a societal restructuring that encouraged women to soar, notably in elected governmental positions. The disintegration of gender roles and newfound appreciation for female citizens transformed women’s position in Rwandan society, and elevated Rwanda to the world’s leader in female representation in government. Rwandan citizens today could choose to elect the minimum number of women to its government, adhering to the 30% minimum, but instead they double the quota, electing women to 61% of Parliamentary positions today.
While women’s rights around the world still have great strides to make before reaching gender equality, countries like Rwanda serve as a reminder and an example for a more equitable society for all people.
References
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2018/8/feature-rwanda-women-in-parliament
Belinda Nicholas is a third year at the University of Colorado Boulder where she majors in Political Science and Philosophy. She has a passion for American and comparative politics and hopes to attend law school after graduating to become a civil rights attorney. In her free time, Belinda enjoys reading biographies about women in politics, cooking vegetarian recipes and traveling.
