Engendering Rwanda's Decentralization: Supporting Women Candidates for Local Office

Publication Date: April 2008
Author: Elizabeth Powley
Abstract: In May 2003 Rwanda ratified a constitution that established a 30 percent quota for women’s participation in all “decision-making organs.” Quotas like this are of critical importance for increasing women’s representation in local government. The interpretation of those quotas, however, is equally important. This publication presents a review of the literature on women and local government, outlines the ongoing decentralization process in Rwanda, and shows how Inclusive Security’s training program helped prepare women to overcome obstacles to their participation that remain despite the quota. (22 pages plus endnotes)


Key Findings:

• In the 2006 local elections, Rwandan women won 33.3 percent of mayor and vice mayor posts at the district level nationwide and 66.6 percent in the capital city of Kigali. The increase in the number of women in local government is attributable in large measure to enforcement of a 30 percent quota at the local level and the preparation of over  2,300 potential candidates.
• Quotas are critical for increasing women’s representation in local government. The interpretation of those quotas is equally important.
• The majority of women elected to district government in 2006 are serving as "vice mayor for social affairs," a post that includes the gender, youth, culture, and health portfolios. This is a significant increase in responsibility from the 2001 system, which saw many women slotted into the post of "vice mayor for gender."
• Local government can present significant barriers to women’s participation in decision-making processes because of local rules, traditions, and customs of authority. Despite Rwanda’s quota, female candidates identified numerous obstacles to their participation in the elections.
• Capacity-building programs should work in concert with quotas, thereby improving the quality of women candidates and increasing their number.
• Training for potential women candidates is extremely effective when it provides role models to build women’s self-confidence, allows for candid discussion in a safe environment, and passes on useful experiences and concrete skills, such as strategies for campaigning.
• In designing training programs to encourage women’s participation as candidates, it is beneficial to: partner with local organizations that have wide reach at the grassroots level; plan the training well in advance of local elections; and ensure the program addresses the unique obstacles that women candidates face.

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