Women's Role In The 1994 Genocide

Rwanda is a country located in Central Eastern Africa, with an extensive history of colonization, after Belgium attained control in 1924. Belgium’s rule however also marked the beginning of a lengthy ethnic rivalry between the Hutu and the Tutsi people. Belgium favored the Tutsi the minority at 14 percent of the population over the Hutu, the majority at 85 percent, simply because the Tutsis were more resembling of the Europeans. “Colonial policy helped to intensify bipolar differentiation between Tutsi and Hutu, by inscribing “ethnic” identification on identity cards, by relegating the vast majority of Hutu to particularly onerous forms of forced cultivation and corvee, and by actively favoring Tutsi in access to administrative posts, education, and jobs in the modern sector,” (Newbury, 12). Belgium’s control fueled the Hutu’s resentment towards the Tutsis because the Tutsis received superior treatment for decades. Thus, when Rwanda finally acquired independence in 1962, the Hutus fought for control over the government, highlighting the first warning sign of the genocide to come. Many Tutsis were killed afterwards, while many others fled to neighboring countries to escape the violence.

Rwanda is a country located in the middle of the African continent. The two ethnic groups present in the country lived in peace under their monarch until the arrival of Europeans. The Belgians arrival into Rwandan is what split the two ethnic groups of the Tutsi and Hutus, making them identify themselves with ID cards. This caused tension between the two groups as the Belgians favored the ethnic Tutsi, and made them the head of the government. Decade’s later Hutu extremists would take over the government and have revenge on the Tutsi. The new government would send out broadcasts calling on Hutus to kill their friends and neighbors. The Rwandan genocide would become the worst genocide to ever happen in Africa and one of the worst in the world. Today Rwanda’s recovery is surprisingly fast with the help of multiple nations and organizations. Rwanda’s recovery is nothing short of a miracle and is an amazing story of a war between two peoples.

“The sweetly sickening odor of decomposing bodies hung over many parts of Rwanda in July 1994: . . . at Nyarubuye in eastern Rwanda, where the cadaver of a little girl, otherwise intact, had been flattened by passing vehicles to the thinness of cardboard in front of the church steps,” (Deforges 6). The normalcy of horrible images like this one had cast a depressing gloom over Rwanda during the genocide, a time when an extreme divide caused mass killings of Tutsi by the Hutu. Many tactics such as physical assault or hate propaganda are well known and often used during times of war. Sexual assault and rape, however, during times of war is an unspoken secret – it is well known that rape occurs within combat zones and occupied territories, but

Pre-1959 Rwanda was run by the Tutsis. This ended when there was an overthrow in Rwanda by the Hutus. Being 85% of the population the Hutus felt they were to take positions of

Throughout the 1600s to the mid 1990s, the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda, and the Hutu tribe of Rwanda have always been arch enemies. Although the Hutus have had a prolonged hate for the Tutsi tribe, this hate was not physically expressed, until 1994. From April to July of 1994, over 80,000 Tutsi people were murdered and tortured for their African heritage. The Rwanda genocide is considered to be one of the worst massacres the world has ever seen since the Holocaust. This paper will touch a few things that occurred after the massacre, and will also answer the questions of why this massacre started, what occurred during this genocide. The Rwandan genocide was a massacre based off of discrimination and hatred for a specific tribal group. This

Rwanda is a landlocked country located in east-central Africa, bordered by Lake Kivu, the highest lake in Africa. Its capital, Kigali, is located in the center of the country. Rwanda has lush vegetation and beautiful landscapes that have earned it the name “le pays de mille collines,” or land of a thousand hills. Though it is a small country, about the size of Maryland, it has a very rich and interesting history, having the highest number inhabitants. Though the country has had a long past of monarchies, it is currently a multiparty republic with two legislative houses.

Imagine spending 91 days hiding in a 3- by 4-foot bathroom with six other people while outside, thousands of your tribe members are being slaughtered. That's what happened to Immaculee Illibagiza during the 1993 Rwanda genocide, and the world must make sure it never happens again. The world's nations have a "responsibility to protect" people from the worst human rights abuses. Also, inaction can lead to genocide and other atrocities. Finally, international security is threatened when helpless citizens are in crisis. This proves that the international community should send military forces to stop the massacre in Swurundi.

The elected women have played a major role in this improvement. According to an article by Palash Ghosh written for the International Business Times (2012), “between 2001 and 2010, the country's economy doubled in size…[and] while many nations in the west are mired in recessionary conditions, Rwanda's economy expanded by 8.8 percent in 2011, and is expected to climb another 7.5 percent [in 2012]”. With more women in office, trade with the United States has also increased to over $50 million and they have promoted the development of agricultural trade, specifically in coffee (Ghosh,

This investigation will answer the research question and give evidence showing that the United Nation’s abandonment was a factor in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide in 1994 was a massacre of more than 800,000 people. Those that initiated the violence were the Hutus. Most of the casualties were the Tutsis. The genocide started after the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana died in a plane that was shot down on April 6, 1994. The person or group that shot down the plane was not identified. On the next day, the prime minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana was assassinated along with ten Belgian soldiers that were already in the country a part of the United Nations peacekeeping force. The United Nations peacekeeping troops had already been

Pope Francis has asked for forgiveness for the Catholic Church’s “sins and failings” in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, but the African state’s government indicated that the apology was not enough as there were suspects who still have not been brought to justice.

An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 woman were victims of rape during the Rwandan genocide. More than 67% of these woman also suffered from the transmission of HIV through a system rape used as a genocidal weapon. This was one of the many cruel methods carried out by Hutu nationalists to oppress the Tutsi people, and eradicate their presence from Rwanda. Over a 3 month period Rwanda experienced an outbreak of mass killings of Tutsi people and Hutu moderates. Media broadcasting prompted Hutu nationalist to raise arms against their Tutsi oppressors, who for decades had subjected them as inferior by influence of a biased imperial race ideology. Nationalism was a driving force on both sides of these two major ethnic groups in Rwanda. The introduction

In the early 1950’s Rwanda’s population increased rapidly, which led the reduction size of farm holdings. In the 1960s, each family was allowed 2 hectares, but in the 1990s each family was allowed 0.7 hectares, there was more land for civilians to live, but less land for farming which caused many people to immigrate to other countries.

The women stepped into the political sphere, taking on non-traditional social roles. Women who also gained rank in the RNP (Rwandan National Party), post-genocide were appointed to strategic positions in the transitional government.7

It’s over twenty years later, and these people still have reoccurring issues. Rwanda and Burundi still has ethnic tension in relation with Tutsi minority and the majority Hutus. Also in today’s society, Rwanda strives to rebuild its economy by their coffee and tea production as its primary exports. They continue to push efforts to reduce inequality and poverty (Global Communities, 2017).

Furthermore, the fabrication of categorization by Rwandans founded gender binary which contributes to the stimulation of genocide. Gender binary refers to a model of gender that classifies all people into two genders (Benson, 2005, pp.1). Under the binary model, gender is rigid (Ibid). The categorization of genders establishes roles for each sex to accept. In the pre-genocide period, each of these roles was adopted by both genders. Accordingly, the pre-genocide Rwandan society placed ideas of what makes a woman and a man on the basis of traits/ qualities. These roles are prescribed as ideal or the appropriate behaviour for an individual of a specific gender. The differences in masculine and feminine traits, behaviour, and roles are not responsible for power inequalities. Females and males are different because there are underlying power inequalities within the society. These inequalities are established as a result of a division of labour. Based on the Metaphysical principles that were established by Aristotle, males are associated with reason and females associated with desire (Allen, 1985, n.p). This understanding stems from history 's division of labour. Males were believed to be breadwinners and females as nurturers of children. In traditional Rwandan society, women 's responsibilities included educating the children, welcoming visitors, managing the household, advising their husbands and maintaining traditions. A gender-based division of labour was instilled at an