Rwanda is the first country in the world with a female majority in Parliament, with 61.3% in the Chamber of Deputies and 36% in the Senate, as per 2018 reports.
A parliamentary delegation from India participated in the 145th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) hosted by the Parliament of Rwanda in Kigali, the capital of this central African nation, in October. It was a proud moment for India when for the first time in 20 years, an Indian MP got elected as a member of the executive committee of IPU. The IPU had met in Kigali to discuss important issues of gender parity and countering the global problem of human trafficking. As a member of the Indian Parliamentary delegation, I had the privilege of participating in debates and discussions on these issues of global importance. Our team cited how under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, efforts for gender equality were being made in India, and how immensely committed India was to address the root causes of human trafficking, and how provisions had been made in the Indian Constitution to prevent such trafficking.
While in Rwanda, I also observed how committed this African nation was to ensure women’s representation in its parliamentary process. Rwanda’s Parliament has the highest percentage of women in a single-house Parliament worldwide. Worldwide, women’s representation in political seats is around 24.5%, even though they account for half the world’s population. Rwanda is an outlier in this regard, with more women in power, proportionally than any other country. In fact, Rwanda is the first country in the world with a female majority in Parliament, with 61.3% in the Chamber of Deputies and 36% in the Senate, as per 2018 reports.
This process of women’s participation started just 14 years after a horrific civil war that resulted in the genocide of 800,000 people in Rwanda. In 2008, Rwanda elected the world’s first women-dominated legislature. Women also got one-third of all cabinet positions as well as the important posts of Supreme Court Chief Justice and Speaker of Parliament. After the genocide, the country’s Constitution set aside at least 30% representation for women in Parliament. Women initially held 39 out of 80 seats (48.75%) in 2003. They got 56% seats in 2008; 63% in 2013 and 61% in the 2018 election, even though reserved seats for women were 30%. This shows that women’s representation in Parliament can be more than the seats reserved for them. As Rwandan women have been telling the international media, the problems of women are understood much better by women themselves. “Men, especially in our culture, used to think that women are there to be in the house, cook food, and look after the children. But the real problems of a family are known by a woman and when they do it, they help a country to get much better,” Anne Kayitesi, a Rwandan voter told the BBC during the 2008 election.
The civil war and the resultant genocide left a horrific mark on the women of Rwanda, with women facing rampant sexual violence. It is estimated that 250,000 to 500,000 women were raped, sexually mutilated, or murdered during the civil war. In spite of this devastating experience, it was the women who rebuilt Rwanda. Post the genocide, inside a few years, Rwandan women had formed 15,400 organisations across the country. Initially, the focus of these organisations was on grief, trauma and support, but as time passed, they started talking about the challenges and issues concerning daily life, gender parity and re-development. And that’s how Rwanda’s women learnt to plan, to organise, to take this awareness to their fellow women and eventually connect with the overall political system. Some of these organisations evolved into vocational training institutions and even profit-making businesses led by women. As a result, women have been playing a key role in restoring Rwanda’s economy, particularly its coffee-growing sector. Considering both natural resources and manufacturing activities are scarce, agriculture is Rwanda’s lifeblood.
Rwanda’s women parliamentarians have been instrumental in bringing about key legal reforms including revisioning the Civil Code. As a result of which, equal inheritance and succession rights have been provided to men and women. Discrimination in the laws that govern political parties and politicians has also been removed. Women were the main initiators of labour laws that resulted in equal pay, thus paving the way towards ending gender-based violence, harassment and discrimination at work. Women also helped bring about equal rights for men and women to access and own land. They also have been working towards preventing and punishing gender-based violence and violence against children.
FACTS ON RWANDAN WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT
* In the 1990s, women made up an average of 18% of Rwandan Parliament members.
* The 2003 Rwandan Constitution set a quota of 30% women in Parliament.
* After the 2008 election in Rwanda, women made up 56% of Parliament. This jumped to 64% after the 2013 election and 61% in 2018.
IN INDIA
Coming to the political scenario in India, here the principle of gender equality is enshrined in our Constitution. The Parliament of India has enacted several progressive laws to protect women against discrimination, violence, atrocities and also to eradicate social evils. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments provided for reservation of 33% of seats for women in the local bodies of governance. These also provide for at least one-third reservation for women to the office of chairperson in these bodies. Some of the Indian states have already raised the reservation level up to 50% to provide for still wider participation.
Today under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has moved from a paradigm of women’s development to women-led development. We are moving with the vision of a new India where women are equal partners in a fast paced and sustainable national development. We have just elected a woman as the President of India. The current 17th Lok Sabha reported a record 78 women members to the Lok Sabha, the highest ever representation for the Lok Sabha.
Kartikeya Sharma is Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).