The 2003 Constitution of Rwanda prohibits gender-based discrimination, but women in the country continue to face social inequalities. The 1992 Family Code improved the legal position of women in regard to marriage, divorce and child custody.
Since the Rwandan genocide in 1994, women have come to play a more important role in the formal sector although the majority of Rwandan women still work in subsistence farming. Approximately one-third of Rwandan women now head their households.
Rwandan women face discrimination within the family context, mainly because of tradition. The average age of first marriages is 20.7 years, which is relatively late in relation to trends in other African countries. Early marriage occurs in Rwanda, but statistics indicate that its incidence has decreased in recent years: a 2004 United Nations report estimated that 7 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed.
Polygamy is illegal in Rwanda, but still affects one woman in ten; there is little difference in its prevalence between rural and urban areas.
Parental authority is held by the head of the family; in two-thirds of cases, this is the husband. Since the genocide, women have acquired a significantly more important role in the family. Increasingly, women and men make joint decisions about their children and general household matters.
In the matter of inheritance, the 1999 Inheritance and Marital Property Law guarantees equal rights for men and women, but in practice, social and cultural obstacles prevent women from inheriting. For example, widows do not automatically inherit the property of a deceased husband. Many women remain unaware of their rights due to a lack of available information, which allows discrimination to persist. Inheritance rights for children are also discriminatory. In most cases following a father’s death, the eldest son obtains all of the household property upon his marriage; by contrast, daughters do not inherit but become responsible for administering the family property.
The physical integrity of Rwandan women is not sufficiently protected, and violence against women is a serious problem. Domestic violence is common and is not specifically prohibited by law. Complaints are rarely made and cases are generally dealt with privately. Rwandan law does prohibit rape and the authorities are taking measures to ensure the legislation is applied. There have been cases of rapists receiving sentences of 20 to 30 years in prison.
The problem of sexual violence was severely aggravated during the Rwandan genocide. During sentencing at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 1998, rape was likened to an act of genocide. Soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Army were responsible for serious human rights violations throughout the conflict with the Ugandan Army in Kisangani in 2000, a period marked by a very high incidence of rape. Many women were also buried alive.
Female genital mutilation does not seem to be practised in Rwanda.
As a result of the civil war and the genocide, women currently outnumber men in Rwanda. In addition, the infant mortality rate is higher among boys than girls, suggesting that Rwanda is not a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Ownership rights in Rwanda are generally unfavourable to women. Access to land is governed by customary laws that provide for land to be transferred from father to son. Women can access land only through marriage. Following the deaths of their husbands during the genocide, many widows have been forced to undertake the work of farming the family land. The government is reforming Rwandan property law in an effort to guarantee men and women equal access to land and ensure equitable inheritance rights.
The Constitution guarantees Rwandan women access to property other than land. Despite gaining a certain level of independence since the genocide, women still face difficulties accessing private property.
Rwandan women have very limited access to bank loans, but micro-credit mechanisms have improved their access to financial resources.
Legislation in Rwanda restricts women’s civil liberties. Their freedom of movement is limited by provisions in the Civil Code which stipulate that married women are not entitled to choose their place of residence, but must respect their husband’s decision. There are no restrictions on women’s freedom of dress.
CRC (Committee on the Rights of the Child) (2004), Examen des rapports présentés par les Etats parties en application de l’article 44 de la Convention, CRC/C/15/ADD.234, CRC, New York, NY.
DHS (Demographic and Health Surveys) (2005), DHS Survey: Rwanda, Institut National de la Statistique Ministére des Finances et de la Planification Économique Kigali, Rwanda and ORC Macro, Calverton, MD, www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pub_details.cfm?ID=594&srchTp=advanced#dfiles.
ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council) (2003), Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1, UN, New York, NY.
IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) (n.d.), Legislation and Other National Provisions: Rwanda, Parliamentary Campaign “Stop Violence Against Women”: Female Genital Mutilation, IPU, Geneva, www.ipu.org/wmn-e/fgm-prov.htm, accessed 10 October 2007.
New Times (2007), Rwanda: Gender Balance Should be More Emphasised in the Rural Areas, New Times, Kigali, http://allafrica.com/stories/200710240583.html.
Nyirankundabera, J. (2002), Gender Sensitive Programme Design and Planning in Conflict-Affected Situations, ACORD (Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development), Nairobi, www.acord.org.uk/Publications/G&CResearch/annex6rwandaeng.pdf.
Rurangwa, E. (2002), Perspective of Land Reform in Rwanda, Land Policy and Land Reform in Sub-Saharian Africa, International Congress, Washington DC, www.fig.net/pub/fig_2002/Ts7-7/TS7_7_rurangwa.pdf.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
UN (2006), World Population Prospects, Population Database, UN Population Division, New York, NY.
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US Department of State (2007b), International Religious Freedom Report: Rwanda, US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Washington, DC.
WID (Women in Development) (2002), Gender Assessment for USAID/Rwanda, International Center for Research on Women, Washington, DC, www.peacewomen.org/resources/Rwanda/ usaid.pdf.
