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Women's Empowerment in Rwanda: The Respective Roles of Courts and Policy

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 November 2016
Date01 November 2016
DOI10.3366/ajicl.2016.0169
Pages476-493
Author
INTRODUCTION

It is widely recognised that women all over the world disproportionately suffer disadvantage compared to men due largely to cultural practices and distortions. The majority of women in sub-Saharan Africa tend to be even more disadvantaged and to live in poverty due to their lack of education and skills, the responsibilities placed upon them to take care of the home and family and their inability to access property and other resources which are controlled by men. Cultural and structural institutions conspire to deprive women of both property and economic agency. Women spend vastly greater amounts of time on child care and domestic duties than men, leaving little to no time for engagement with the market.1 In such households, poverty is readily heritable by girl children as women delegate responsibilities to older girls, who are then forced to leave school and take on household duties, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.2

Women's poverty in much of Africa is worsened by their lack of rights to land. Patriarchal traditions typically prohibit women from owning immovable property in the first place.3 A married woman may have conditional access to and use of her husband's land, but she is not likely to hold title to that land.4 Without title, women are legally devoid of rights to the land.5 Upon the death of the husband, the property often defaults to his family, and the widow's in-laws assume ownership over the land and other property that she has been developing and relying on since marriage.6 In rural societies, no land means no livelihood.7 With no immovable property to serve as collateral for loans, women encounter difficulties in receiving credit to pursue new occupations.8 Although it is very difficult to determine statistically the level of ownership of land by women in Africa, according to a recent study, women are disadvantaged relative to men in nearly all measures of land ownership and bundles of associated rights.9 This economic marginalisation of women often leads to their social marginalisation, which causes women to become destitute.10

While most African countries have included gender equality provisions in their constitutions, they have not yet enacted the necessary accompanying legislation.11 As a result, inequitable cultural norms remain unaddressed and injustice against women persists.12 Inequality in property rights has three major implications for women. First, married women are more likely to remain in abusive relationships in order to maintain access to land. Second, widows suffer disproportionately as they often lose access to land. Finally, girl children suffer more from a mother's loss of land, as they are frequently forced to marry young for a bride-price.13

While many grave challenges remain, significant progress has been made in recent decades to close the gender gap. Legislators have begun recognising and addressing the institutional difficulties that women face. Efforts have been made in many African countries to improve the lot of women, to empower them towards equality with men. Legal mechanisms and programmes have been introduced aimed at ensuring women's equal access to resources and representation in public institutions and giving them a voice. Efforts to include women in the political sphere have changed countries' policies and perspectives on women's empowerment.14 This is, for instance, in terms of affirmative action in public employment, positions in decision-making bodies, emphasis on girls' education and investment in agriculture where the majority of rural women are self-employed, as well as subsidised micro-finance activities. Many governments also recognise that gender is a cross-cutting issue that must be addressed in all development plans and programmes. It is in this context that I look at efforts made by Rwanda in promoting gender equality, empowering women and thus minimising their exposure to poverty.

 RWANDA'S LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND MECHANISMS FOR PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY

The Rwandan Constitution, governmental policies and enacted legislation all reflect a high level of commitment to securing gender parity. Rwanda has been acknowledged internationally for empowering women by, among other things, ensuring their participation in the political process, in business and in civil society. As President Paul Kagame has remarked, in Rwanda ‘the debate is not about women's role or whether they should be empowered or not. That is a given. For us, ensuring gender equality is not just a moral issue, it is a rights issue and it is a shared responsibility that concerns every member of our society.’15 In Rwanda over a five-year period between 2005/6 and 2010/11, the number of people living in poverty decreased by over one million (12 per cent).16 Since this was mainly through support for agricultural activities and women dominated in this sector, it may be assumed that the women were empowered in this process.

The Constitution

The Constitution calls for gender equality and equal voting rights; it also requires the creation of a gender monitoring office and the establishment of a national women's council. This constitutional framework also includes affirmative action measures: at least 30 per cent of government leadership positions are reserved for women. In this regard, Article 9 of the Constitution articulates Rwanda's commitment to fundamental principles of equality which include:

[B]uilding a state governed by the rule of law, a pluralistic democratic government, equality of all Rwandans and between women and men reflected by ensuring that women are granted at least thirty per cent of posts in decision making organs.17

This has resulted in an unprecedented number of women being elected or appointed to decision-making positions at all levels of government. As of 2014, women account for 38 per cent of Rwanda's senators, 64 per cent of the members of parliament's lower chamber,18 40 per cent of ministers and 41 per cent of Supreme Court justices. Although these figures do not reflect the effect of such representation on an average Rwandan woman's standard of living or the level of women's empowerment among Rwandans in general, they are indicative of Rwanda's push towards gender equity. As the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) notes, if women's participation in political life ‘reaches 30 to 35 per cent (generally termed a ‘critical mass’), there is a real impact on political style and the content of decisions, and political life is revitalized.’19 It is hoped that the high participation of women in Rwanda will be an agent for transformative change for all women in the future

Additionally, the Constitution provides a strong platform for gender mainstreaming in all sectors, stating that Rwanda is ‘committed to ensuring equal rights between Rwandans and between women and men without prejudice to the principles of gender equality and complementarity in national development.’20 Importantly, the Constitution also recognises the economic rights of women in marriage. Paragraph 4 of Article 26 provides that: ‘Parties to a marriage have equal rights and obligations upon and during the subsistence of their marriage and at the time of divorce.’21

The Rwandan Constitution thus provides a baseline principle of gender equity to which all other national laws must conform, including laws relating to land, other property, employment and participation in wealth creation.

 National Legislation

Within the context of human rights and gender equality promotion, Rwanda has made considerable progress in both revising previously existing discriminatory laws and enacting new ones. Current laws on equality and human rights include:

The Succession Law, which allows women and girls to inherit and own property.22

The Electoral Law, Article 7 of which stipulates a minimum quota of 30 per cent of women in government leadership positions.23

Law No. 37/2002 of 31/12/2002, which establishes the National Commission for Human Rights (an independent institution that holds the government accountable in relation to the enforcement and implementation of Rwanda's human rights standards, including gender equality).24

Law No. 43/2013 of 16/06/2013, governing land in Rwanda. This law provides in Article 4 that any discrimination such as that based on sex or origin in relation to access to land and the enjoyment of real rights is prohibited. (See also references to this law under section IV below.)

Law No. 59/2008 of 10/09/2008 on the prevention and punishment of gender-based violence.

Law No. 02/2011 of 10/02/2011, which determines the responsibilities, organisation and operation of the National Women's Council.

Law No. 47/2001 on the prevention, suppression and punishment of discrimination and sectarianism, Articles 1 and 3 of which prohibit discrimination against women and girls in relation to inheritance.

 POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROMOTION OF GENDER EQUALITY AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION

These laws and constitutional provisions have led to the creation of dedicated government institutions and the formulation of policies and strategies to ensure their effective implementation. Several government policies provide for the equitable distribution of national resources among men and women. These policies have a direct impact on alleviating female...

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