Gloria I. Anyango
18 September 2008
Kigali — Elections held on Tuesday saw Rwandan women taking 56.25 percent of the contested parliamentary seats something that has never happened in Africa or the world. These polls have set Rwanda on the world record having 44 parliamentary seats taken up by women.
RPF took 17 seats, PSD- 2 and PL- 1. "Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) won 42 of the 53 seats contested on Monday's direct voting, while the Social Democratic party (PSD) took seven, and the Liberal Party (PL) won four," said Chrisolugue Karangwa, the electoral commission Chief.
In the heat of the elections, the people of Rwanda Tuesday voted diligently for the women representatives who were to occupy their reserved 24 seats and the Youth with 2 seats, while yesterday Wednesday, people cast votes for the Disabled who occupy only one seat. The uprising of Rwandan women is something that has been anticipated for over the past years.
In the wake of 2003, the people of Rwanda nominated and finally elected 39 women parliamentarians who became part of the 80- member chamber of deputies. This alone hit the world record of Rwanda having the highest women parliamentarians in Africa and better still across the globe.
This was after the UN in 2003 set a target for nations to implement a 30 percent female representation in parliament. Subsequent to this, the constitution of the Republic of Rwanda quickly adapted to the call and saw that women were well catered for.
That year an additional 15 seats were won on top of the usual 24 reserved seats. After Tuesdays polls, the whooping 56.25 percent women representation dictates that the Rwandan woman is well represented in the lower house of parliament. This figure emphasizes the fact that the country's future is being shaped by women.
With the empowerment and emancipation of women through educational and business skills, the women of Rwanda are at the forefront of the government's 'VISION 2020'- an effort by the government to transform the country's economy to a Knowledge based one. As a result of this, female literacy has risen from 10 percent to over 50 percent over the past fourteen years.
The country's new era of equal opportunity has also coincided with extraordinary economic development where in 2007 the economy grew by 6 percent.
Not only are women the backbone of the country's economy, they also are speedily taking up leadership roles in high places.
This can be attributable to the fact that a few women are ready and willing to represent the less sought after women- those in rural Rwanda.
"It is not only in the numbers. It is also the quality of those women we are electing to take those positions and also for the common women, women at the village level this gave them a certain message, a message that women can do," Oda Gasinzigwa, of the National Women's Council, said.
Gasinzigwa also said that the women leaders are in parliament to also represent the rural women and that their yardstick is the livelihood and the status of the Rwandan woman.
However women alone would not have achieved this success if it were not for the many motivating forces behind their backs.
The government's initiative to improve the status of the Rwandan woman has been a major anvil-and- axle to the success story.
Quoting colonel Rose Kabuye, a patriot in the RPF- the now ruling party who believes that without the backing of the government, women could not have possibly done it alone.
"Whenever women struggle on their own it hasn't been successful so it has to all go to what the leaders of the country want."
"So the Rwandan leadership has accepted this and has put it in the constitution. This is not something that we should have done on our own and I do not think we could have managed it on our own," she said in an interview recently.
These views however, leave a lot of speculations on whether the women elect are sit fillers who are there to please the government or are actually capable of performing and passing new laws that are solid and beneficial to the society as a whole.
This is where the Electoral Colleges come into the limelight. Electoral colleges are a body consisting of 10 women voters from every sector in any given district and include other 10 voters from the district level who may comprise of men.
"We in the Electoral College vote for the women who can represent and fight for our rights in parliament. Not only are they responsible for passing legislative laws but also ensure that special women issues like fair laws pertaining to marriage, children and divorce are put into consideration," said Anne Marie, a NEC official who was also part of the Electoral College voters for Gasabo district.
Other than this, financial support in form of loans is offered to help women achieve different goals ranging from domestic to business or capacity building.
"The government has specially availed a 50 percent loan access to women. This is specifically to aid the poor women of Rwanda who cannot afford financially to set up any projects," said Peragie Mukayeyiranga a voter and also the coordinator of Gasabo district in these elections.
The public has accepted well the trend in the Rwandan woman's evolution in leadership. Many are optimistic that the future is getting brighter.
"I voted because I know that women are very good leaders. Women have a heart to listen and understand the problems we have with our families and children. If Rwanda can have many leaders then our community will develop quickly," said Jane Dusabe, a voter.
In light of all these facts, it is inevitable to say that whatever the government's intentions in building the Rwandan woman's solidarity, the results are impressive in the world's eyes.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The New Times. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
