The Exalted Women of Rwanda

Sammanfattning: In 1994 Rwanda was consumed by one of the bloodiest genocides in modern times, culminating in 800,000 dead after twelve weeks. As the country has taken significant strides towards uniting the country across ethnic lines, Rwanda has seen a clear increase in women’s representation in decision-making positions. This has been hallmarked by the inclusion of women in the post-genocide reconciliation process. The objective of this study has been to explore the collective perception of women in reconciliation in Rwanda through the employment of critical discourse analysis, featuring government and civil society representatives. Transcending Rwanda as a unique case, the concept of female gender essentialisms postulates how limited understandings of women’s roles in peace and conflict impedes their agency and key findings suggest that the Rwandan reconciliation process is laden with essentialist assumptions of women, evidenced by the narratives of women as bearers of life, non-agents and peacemakers. This representation of women is attributed to the government’s attempts at reconstructing the social fabric of Rwanda. Paradoxically, the very tenets that have sought to increase the participation of women in the post-genocide reconciliation process perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes, threatening not only reconciliation but also the greater quest for women’s emancipation in Rwanda.