Aftermath : women and women"s organizations in postgenocide Rwanda

This document summarizes two studies examining the impact of the genocide on Rwandan women (PN-ACJ-323/324). It also examines the role women"s organizations have since played in trying to rebuild the country and the efforts of USAID and other donors to assist these organizations. The war and genocide affected men and women differently. It is estimated that more than 200,000 Rwandan women and girls were victims of some form of sexual violence. Most who died, who never returned to Rwanda after fleeing, or who were imprisoned on charges of genocide were men. Thus, many war widows and other single women survived to care for families alone, to take in orphans, and to assume duties traditionally carried out in patriarchal Rwanda by men. Almost every Rwandan woman survivor of the genocide has a dramatic story of hunger, deprivation, fear, flight, and loss of family and friends. Rwandan women of all groups and social strata saw their lives, their families, and their tenuous hold on economic security disrupted by the carnage and continuing turmoil. In the aftermath, as Rwanda tries to put itself back together, women"s organizations have proliferated. Although the conflict shattered the social networks that had traditionally supported them, Rwandan women, faced with the state"s inability to meet critical needs, began forming groups to confront common problems. Offering a range of services including shelter projects, advocacy of women"s rights, organizational and civic training programs, income-generating programs, and health care and psychotherapy, women"s associations have helped many rebuild their lives. USAID and the donor community has assisted women"s organizations in postgenocide Rwanda in many ways. The most important has been the funding for projects such as the Campaign for Peace. On the negative side, the almost total dependence of women"s organizations on international funding and thus on shifting donor concerns has made long-range planning difficult. Lessons learned are as follows: (1) Strategies must be developed for sustaining women"s organizations in Rwanda. Though some organizations have begun self-financing initiatives, few, if any, could survive on these alone. Thus, donor support is crucial. The external requirement of drafting project proposals and evaluating organization activities helps build capacity within these groups. Moreover, those within the Rwandan government and civil society who wish to expand opportunities for women"s empowerment can benefit from the authority and experience of the international community. (2) Government can play an important role in helping establish women"s organizations. USAID ordinarily expends more resources strengthening civil society than promoting government. But Rwanda"s current government consists primarily of people who came of age in exile and who had no experience governing before 1994. Even so, that government"s Ministry of Gender and Promotion of Women"s Development took the bold step of putting a ministry representative in each prefecture and commune. These officials in turn have worked with local government authorities to bring attention to women"s concerns. (3) The international community can help address property rights. USAID has been a pioneer in advocating property rights for women in postconflict societies. Its efforts in Rwanda now must focus on implementing the constitutional and legislative reforms already passed, building public support for women"s property rights, and resolving bureaucratic inertia and resistance.