Fully funded by the Rotary Foundation, the prestigious Rotary Peace Fellowship program is designed for individuals and professionals with work experience in international relations or peace and conflict prevention and resolution. A key component of the Fellowship is the Applied Field Experience (AFE). The AFE provides the RPFs with a unique opportunity— usually between two to three months— during the summer period between academic terms to either intern with peace and conflict/community development organization or conduct an independent research project that reflects both the objective of the Fellowship and the expectations of the RPFs. During the AFE, peace fellows test the conceptual and theoretical knowledge in peace and conflict resolution attained from the classroom in the real-world setting, in exchange for gaining the practical knowhow and professional experience.
Coming to terms with my expectations, first, to acquire the practical skills in conflict resolution and peacebuilding from a leading organization in the world, and second, to examine women’s role in post-conflict reconstruction, I chose to do my internship with Search for Common Ground (Search) in Rwanda.
Search is one of the largest peacebuilding and conflict transformation organizations in the world that works to transform the way the world deals with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative solutions. With headquarters in Washington, DC and a European office in Brussels, Belgium, and with projects in 35 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States, Search seeks to help conflicting parties understand their differences and act on their commonalities. Working with Search for three months—June to August 2019—on different conflict resolution projects, including East Africa conflict geography, cross-border trade conflict research and budget notes design for the project of building peaceful cross-border communities in coastal Kenya and Tanzania, my expectations have been met. Thus, I have gained the practical knowledge and skills to deal with violent conflict by moving away from confrontational approaches towards collaborative solutions that result in nonzero sum outcomes— and now I can give professional advice on the mutually benefiting ways to resolve conflict.
More so, as my second expectation was to examine women’s role in post-conflict peace-building, I took a personal decision to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial. I learnt that although grievances of socioeconomic and political inequality suffered by the majority Hutus in the hands of the minority Tutsi formed the basis of the conflict, the actual manifestation of the genocide occurred after the airplane death of the Hutu President, Juvenal Habyarimana in April 6, 1994. Thereafter, Hutus went on a killing spree, massacring about one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus (who did not side with the extremists).
The genocide ended with properties destroyed, social amenities and infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads, markets, telecommunication, electricity, and recreations all damaged. Consequently, thousands of women became victims of rape, sexual abuse, trauma, and physical injuries, and 66 per cent of the raped victims tested positive for the HIV/AIDS virus after the genocide (Mutamba and Izabiliza, 2005). Yet, Rwandan women’s role in the post-genocide reconstruction process is remarkable as it is recorded in the following five key areas.
First, Rwandan women became the engine of socioeconomic growth and development in the post-genocide reconstruction process. A vast network of women’s groups such as associations and cooperative societies at the grassroots level played a pivotal role in providing socioeconomic empowerment initiatives. Women participated in various income generating activities that contributed to building their local economies, which in turn paved the way for sustainable community development. Diverse initiatives were carried out by joint women’s groups, including women farmers. As many men were either killed, fled the country or were imprisoned because of the genocide, affecting agricultural production and food security, women across the country revived numerous agricultural activities through self-help initiatives. Thus, women cultivated crops to provide food for their families and neighbors, including genocide induced orphans and survivors, contributing to food security and malnutrition prevention. In the private and public sector, Rwandan women emerged as workers in the fields in which they had been virtually invisible prior to the genocide, including women becoming bank tellers, cab drivers and mechanics as part of their efforts to transform the genocide devasted economy.
Second, Rwandan women participated massively in the national program known as the Imidugudu (resettlement) where women served as laborers for construction purposes. Women were involved in the construction of house roofs for the first time in Rwandan history. Throughout the country, women were seen on building and construction sites, working side by side with men or sometimes with women’s associations, providing homes for ex-combatants and other returnees while others ensured reproductive health care for internally displaced persons.
Third, Rwandan women’s role in national politics is remarkable. There is a recent record of 67.5% of women’s representation in the Rwandan parliament with some women serving as cabinet members (Ghana News Agency, 2019). More so, Rwandan women participated in drafting the new constitution in May 2003, with the first executive secretary of the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, established in March 1999, being a woman.
Fourth, immediately after the genocide, one of the key challenges was to restore and maintain security, law and order in the fragile society. Women contributed to the restoration of security in numerous ways. For instance, women provided hideouts for legitimate community combatants to be able to ambush the rebels at the grassroots level— an act of heroism because it involved risks of life. Women again provided information to the national security forces about any suspicions and threats to peace—in the attempt to ensure security. Also, women, after advocating to convince husbands and relatives who broke off the insurgency to disassociate from violence, provided some with new homes, food and other restoration opportunities to be well accepted back to the society.
Finally, in the aftermath of the genocide, Rwandan women assumed non-traditional role, including serving as judges in the local gacaca court which prior to the genocide was a position reserved only for the inyangamugayo (wise old men). Women represented in the local gacaca courts nationwide and by November 2005, 26,752 representing 15.7% of the judges were women who contributed in post-genocide justice delivery system (Ingelaere, 2008). Although some number of women played a role in the massacre, generally women’s contribution in the post-conflict reconstruction cannot be overemphasized. These scenarios indicate how women have contributed to shape political participation, empowerment and socioeconomic development in modern day Rwanda.
To conclude, the AFE has offered me the opportunity to, first, obtain practical skills in peace and conflict resolution from a leading organization, which allows me to contribute to peacebuilding work in the advanced level of professionalism. Second, the firsthand information gain during my visit to the genocide memorial has shaped and advanced my thoughts to see women not only as war victims, but also development agents. Therefore, women should be given the meaningful opportunity to participate in post-conflict peacebuilding and formal peace processes.
References
Ghana News Agency (2019). Rwanda sets new world record on female representation in parliament. Available at https://www.myjoyonline.com/world/2019/october-9th/rwanda-sets-new-world-record-on-female-representation-in-parliament.php. (Accessed on 2 November 2019).
Ingelaere, B. (2008). The gacaca courts in Rwanda Chapter 2 Traditional Justice and Reconciliation after Violent Conflict: Learning from African Experiences. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.
Mutamba, J., and Izabiliza, J. (2005). The role of women in reconciliation and peacebuilding in Rwanda: Ten Years after Genocide 1994-2004. Available at https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/4786/3871.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed on 20 October 2019).
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