Balancing the Scales

By+Chika+Ezeanya-Esiobu

A recent article published in The Guardian on January 12， titled On Parliamentary Equality the UK Is 48th. It Could Learn from No.1： Rwanda， calls on some of the worlds nations to learn a lesson or two from Rwanda as far as political inclusion of women is concerned. Indeed， Rwanda is leading the pack among African governments， non-governmental organizations， the private sector and the society that are increasingly uniting in working to improve the political and economic situation of women across the continent.

However， it is important to first note that the widespread assumption that African societies in the entirety of their cultures are inclined to look down on women is not really the case. Many African societies prior to colonial intrusion had a section of their female folk who were very empowered politically， economically and socially， and who participated actively in community organization and nation building. Colonialism introduced some form of Victorian gender ideology among the African upper class and to a large extent succeeded in erasing preexisting traditional forms of female power manifestations in precolonial Africa. From colonial records， women in precolonial Rwanda worked hard in the farms and had some measure of liberty over economic matters. However， colonialism， for the first time， consigned certain women to become housewives in the cities as a result of being married to male citizens who worked for the colonial administration.

Gender equity

Many African countries are now working to reestablish the precolonial status and recognition granted to women and to also correct certain disempowering cultural beliefs， norms and practices that date back to precolonial times. This has become imperative since， according to International Monetary Fund （IMF） Managing Director Christine Lagarde，“When women do better， economies do better.”Also， addressing the Clinton Global Initiative， former President of the United States Bill Clinton noted，“Women perform 66 percent of the worlds work， and produce 50 percent of the food， yet earn only 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property.”

Rwanda is one country in Africa that has succeeded in structurally dismantling several barriers that previously consigned women to the status of underlings in the polity， and is gradually but steadily working to transform mindsets about women among the populace. Since the genocide of 1994， when approximately 1 million citizens were killed and some half a million women raped， the Government of Rwanda has put in efforts at improving the status of women， and has recorded some impressive results in that process. Indeed， Rwanda has been hailed as one of Africas success stories in terms of ensuring inclusion of women in governance， and in crafting policies to improve the social and economic situation of the nations female population.

Today， 64 percent of Rwandas parliamentarians are women， representing the highest proportion of female parliamentarians in the world. There is a dedicated agency to monitor issues of gender equity in the country known as the Gender Monitoring Office （GMO） and gender rights are enshrined in the countrys constitution. Several laws exist specifically to protect womens right of inheritance to land， asset sharing in marriage relationships， and obtaining of credit for entrepreneurial endeavors.

Women empowerment

Rwanda has come a very long way from the pregenocide era when women could neither take on employment nor freely travel internationally without a signed approval obtained from their husbands. In pre-genocide Rwanda also， women could not inherit property and were sometimes forced to marry early and against their wishes， in addition to having no access to contraceptives. According to World Health Organization Inter-Agency Group， the maternal mortality rate in births had fallen from 567 deaths per 100，000 births in 2005 to 290 deaths per 100，000 births in 2015. Approximately 98 percent of Rwandan women are covered by health insurance and there are less teenage marriages and pregnancies than ever before.

Rwandas progress in women empowerment cuts across sectors， and is very noticeable in the educa-tion sector， where between 2005 and 2010， the average age of educational attainment among female members of Rwandas population increased by one year. Literacy rate among females of 15-24 years old stood at 78 percent in 2013 ， while in terms of formal employment， latest available statistics， according to the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda， state that since 2000， Rwanda has recorded a higher female employment rate than men.

Challenges

Having made such notable achievements， Rwanda still contends with certain challenges which the government is working hard to surmount. Women in Rwanda account for more than 54 percent of Rwandas population and 30 percent of rural households are headed by women with most of them being food insecure. Agriculture， which most of the rural dwellers depend on， is not dependable and is grossly underdeveloped， owing mainly to environmental factors and the absence of modern technology in farming. Rural agriculture， in which women are mostly engaged， consists of small plots of less than 1 hectare on which rain-fed grain crops are cultivated， traditional livestock reared and vegetables planted. Only a small percentage of farmers， who are mostly men， are engaged in cash crops production. Therefore， female headed households in rural areas are the most vulnerable since they have little access to land and some of them are landless. What is needed at this point is for the Government of Rwanda to focus attention on empowering female rural dwellers with necessary skills and resources needed to exceed their current income levels. But despite the above challenges， Rwandas record in terms of women empowerment has made it a beacon of light for Africa and the rest of the world.