“Before joining this forum, I was not aware of BDF services and the requirements for a woman to qualify for its grant or support in accessing a bank loan but now I am confidently ready to undergo the process as soon as possible” a participant from Busasamana sector, Nyanza district.
In Rwanda, right from the smallest administrative unit (Umudugudu) to the legislative assembly, women are represented in decision-making positions. As a matter of fact, Rwanda is the first country in the world to achieve a female majority parliament with 61.3% representation. This highlights the country’s keenness and commitment to the realization of women’s rights and gender equality, as a prerequisite for inclusive and equitable economic growth and sustainable national development.
In the period leading to the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi, women were almost invisible in public arenas and were mostly confined in the public sphere performing mainly reproductive roles such as unpaid care work. After the genocide, women became avant-garde for reconstruction efforts undertaking not only traditional roles relegated to them but also becoming prominent in roles such as leadership and more visible in politics.
National laws and policies like the equal inheritance rights for both the girl and boy child, law N° 22/99 of 12/11/1999, that also instituted matrimonial regimes, liberalities, and successions, undoubtedly show how women’s inclusion in governance processes is a key pillar for a holistic transformation of a society and that policies should therefore adequately accommodate women’s needs.
Nonetheless, challenges persist in that woman still do not feel confident to express themselves in public. This is because illiteracy disproportionately affects women and years of retrogressive culture that hindered women’s participation in the public arena. In addition, structural barriers prevent women from fully enjoying the benefits of the laws granting them equal rights, benefits, and opportunities. It is in this regard that Women Inspire Forums have been viewed to be a critical tool for women empowerment.
As a partner to the country’s development efforts, through our USAID-funded DKI activity, NAR has been holding women inspire forums in our districts of operation – Huye, Nyanza, Kayonza, Nyagatare, Ngororero, Rusizi, Musanze and Burera. What started as just spaces for support and solidarity, where women share their challenges, has today morphed into platforms where women can inspire and empower themselves to become active in governance processes and participate in citizen spaces such as “Umugoroba w’ababyeyi”.
Women Inspire Forums have served as an avenue for women in the different districts of interventions to gain an awareness of their rights and the national programs that affect them directly. Particularly, it has been a conduit through which women can openly share about their concerns and be involved in governance processes. The forums have invited government representatives in gender issues such as the Nation Women Councils (NWCs) and representatives of local governments to interact with women beneficiaries and provide feedback on issues such as challenges in service delivery, teenage pregnancy among others. An added benefit of the forums has been that they have served as a peer-to-peer platform for the women to inspire each other and give advice for those interested in exploring income generating activities. They are determined to face the implicit and explicit barriers to their full participation and economic growth. Feedback from the session has included:
“In our communities where we live, government programs and policies are not known, I am glad that you are helping us to know them so that we teach them back in our communities and cooperatives where we meet with women” a participant from Karama sector, Huye district.
Overall, the space has been effective in building the capacities of women, increasing their confidence to participate in governance, analyzing their needs and ability to engage with elected women local leaders to address their needs and concerns. Similarly, the Women inspire forums have increased trust among the women. Participants have expressed that the forum is a platform for joint reflection on challenges affecting them, sharing opportunities, a safe space to discuss sensitive issues they face and jointly identify, analyze, and package policy issues affecting women.
Never Again Rwanda (NAR), as an organization, is committed to promoting gender equality and combating discrimination. We accomplish this by integrating gender perspective in our programming and by building the organizational capacity and ownership to attain gender sensitive programming, organizational structure, and procedures and having programs specifically targeting women such as the Women Inspire Forum. We believe that enabling equal access to resources, knowledge, and economic prosperity for women and leveraging their talent, creativity, and determination for economic good, will keep propelling the country further.
Written by:
Leah Tesfamariam
Lead Gender Mainstreaming/ Strategic and Technical Advisor