"Early reports from the
parliamentary elections last Monday indicate that women now
hold nearly 64% of the seats. Prior to the genocidal conflict in 1994,
the figure was just 18%.
....
But the main reason Rwandan women MPs find themselves in the
majority is the country's organised women's movement. Women such as the late
feminist champion, Judith Kanakuze, and the organisation she spearheaded, Twese
Hamne (Pro-Femmes), ensured through active mobilisation that equality became a
top priority in the post-conflict constitution. Female activists made a
conscious effort to include women in the rebuilding of the country after the
genocide. In other words, what we see is not simply a consequence of the
conflict or big-hearted male leaders handing out seats to women. It is a
conscious and co-ordinated effort, by women for women." (thanks Nikolai)
