“Rwanda of the Women” An overview on the situation of Rwandan women nowadays

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the situation of Rwandan women nowadays. Rwandan women have been strongly affected by the genocide of 20 years ago. The genocide of 1994 was the result of an idea rooted by the colonial legacy that recognized a group of the population as superior than the other. As a result of years of resentment, in the weeks after 6th April 1994, around 800,000 Rwandan men, women, and children perished in one of the most terrible genocide. Firstly, this thesis illustrates the history of the country passing first through the colonisation, secondly facing the civil war and finally considering the genocide and all its mechanisms. In this last stage, a particular attention is given to the violence that women have suffered during the genocide, illustrated by some testimonies. In the second part, the situation of Rwandan women nowadays is presented. In a detailed analysis, are highlighted women’s achievements with an overview about the gender indicators in the occupational Rwandan sectors, the health situation, the education reality, the impact of the law N°22/99 of 12/11/1999 about property and finally the gender based violence indicators nowadays. In the third and final part, the thesis supports the data about Rwandan women through 20 interviews with women, carried out in Rwanda in summer 2014, which are part of a documentary project. Furthermore, the thesis is enriched with a final report about the two-months internship performed at “Réseau des femmes Oeuvrant pour le développement rural” a Rwandan NGO, still in summer 2014. This thesis essentially aims at giving a deep insight into such important gender issue, giving not only relevance to the historic events but also to the objective scenario of what Rwandan women represent in the society, particularly to all the result they have achieved today.