Traditionally, Rwandese women's primary role economically has been as subsistence farmers, where they are generally responsible for doing most of the work. They have had little access to the modern business sectors. A number of women, however, operate small income-generating projects and medium-sized businesses. But as with many cultures, deeply entrenched socio-cultural barriers prevent meaningful gender equity within Rwandan society.
Even though Rwanda's constitution fosters gender equality, women face limited opportunities in education, employment and society. The 1992 codification of women’s legal status attempted to improve their rights with respect to marriage, divorce and child custody, but it formally designated men as heads of households. Nonetheless, additional steps have been taken to help bring additional rights to Rwandese women. In 1999, for example, women became legally able to inherit property from their husbands and fathers. Laws were also enacted to allow couples to jointly determine their property rights, that is joint ownership, community property, etc.
Today, more than a third of all households are headed by women, many of them widows who lost their husbands in the 1994 genocide. Tragically, it is estimated that as many as 500,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu women and girls were methodically raped, tortured and physically abused during the genocide. Rape and torture of women has long been a historical consequence of armed conflict, and the Rwandan genocide was no exception. Women and girls were abducted, kept as sex slaves, and considered spoils of war. Some of these women have survived, but many were murdered.
The fallout from these assaults is a far too close and strong memory for survivors, as many now face life without family members, having to raise children who were born as a result of the brutal attacks against them in the 1990s. Some have the added worry of having contracted sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Worse, some 95,000 children were orphaned. At the government’s request and despite the extreme poverty of Rwandans, most households have adopted 3-6 orphaned children.
Since the genocide — and for the first time — rape has been prosecuted as a war crime and as a genocidal act under the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Rape is now considered a first-degree crime within local Rwandese courts. Previously, in post-genocide Rwanda, rape was considered a third degree crime. This is an historical legal victory for both Rwandese women and women throughout the world. |
