Women Political Leaders in Rwanda and South Africa

Front matter

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Contents

Acknowledgements: siso inasaka uiage sE 5 POLE WONG: iiiaae eei o e AEEA A a es 8 Tntröductiot sensisse n E E E aS 11 Chapter 1: Explaining Women’s Representation: Quotas, Proportional Representation and Political Will. sssniisscciisensirsoka ntersu 23 Chapter 4: Early Life Experiences and Post-Conflict Transformation POTIGE Sonia aar E E E EAE E 75 Chapter 5: Education as a Site of Oppression, Resistance and Survival..96 Chapter 7: The Three Shifts: Navigating Marriage, Motherhood and Work ren ese tered cette eee Cab neat c eaves peau 125 COMCIUSIOM A E E snses suvdesuden suds E 147 BibliO St aphy’ cesseccssessezsscdveccite cede neccsauessnedeidedaeecvssesas E 150 MAE Greener ert renee per a tre reece rev reerp terre etree st rtererererrrrverery EE ree 158

Foreword

The field of women and politics has advanced significantly in the last twenty years, both in terms of scope and methods. We now have remarkable insights into electoral strategies that benefit women’s representation, new understandings about the impact and role of women in government, and a growing awareness of the cascade effect of gender-friendly policies from country to country. In the midst of all of this new information, we often forget that some of the strongest contributions in this field have come from understanding the women leaders themselves as political actors, what brought them to office, and their vision and challenges. Naleli Morojele’s work is precisely this type of contribution. Women Political Leaders in Rwanda and South Africa: Narratives of Triumph and Loss is one of the most original and vital contributions to these very core topics in several years. Her work reminds us of the value and importance of reflective, engaging partnerships with women leaders and what those types of partnerships can bring to our understanding of leadership, conflict, and peacemaking.

Morojele’s work is a thoroughly original effort to further our field through comparative field research partnering with women leaders in both Rwanda and South Africa. Comparative field-based projects like this are rare, and Ms. Morojele has captured some of the most engaging and provocative findings for us to consider. After a thorough discussion of the existing literature on both South Africa and Rwanda, Ms. Morojele then presents original interview research with leading women in politics in both countries. It is a pleasure to see two such interesting cases — Rwanda and South Africa -compared so directly in terms of women and leadership. These two cases individually have been two of the most studied and discussed post-conflict cases in Africa, but rarely are they compared. As Ms. Morojele discusses, the cases have some important similarities, including conflicts ending in the same year, a national commitment to include women in post-conflict political leadership, and efforts toward national reconciliation and building a lasting peace. They also have many key differences — different languages, different types of conflict (genocide versus struggle for national liberation), different legacies of colonization, different foreign interests, and different economies and levels of development. It is rare to see these two cases brought into direct comparison, and her findings are provocative.

Rather than focusing exclusively on women from one branch of government, Ms. Morojele speaks with women legislators and members of the cabinet and bureaucracy — a rare scope of leadership capturing both policy-making and policy implementation. She also shares extensive information from her interviews — allowing the women to speak for themselves. This is increasingly scarce in our field, which is becoming dominated by more quantitative studies covering dozens of countries. Given the extensive interview material presented in this manuscript, scholars will be able to use her work to find new patterns and ideas in their own work. It is clear from the insight and intimacy of the interviews that these women leaders had great confidence in Ms. Morojele and what her work would mean. It is one of the greatest tributes to her work and her process.

Women Political Leaders in Rwanda and South Africa: Narratives of Triumph and Loss also demonstrates Ms. Morojele’s substantial interdisciplinary strengths — as she addresses some key concepts from political science, women’s studies, and African studies. She has important and original ideas about electoral systems, electoral strategies, and institutional systems - that are the core of political science. Indeed, she comprehensively covers the literature and scholarship in this field, and this work will be invaluable for new and emerging scholars because of this solid overview. She engages some of the eternal questions of our field: Does having more women in office matter? What are the limitations and strengths of quotas and symbolic representation? How are women elected through quotas able to counteract the stereotypes of ‘window-dressing’? How do women challenge patronage, authoritarianism, and party politics while advancing their political agenda and women’s issues?

Ms. Morojele also brings focus to some substantial issues in gender studies including gender and education, gender and literacy, feminization of poverty, and reproductive health. She pays particular attention to why education is so important for women personally, professionally, and politically. She also does not shy away from examining the continued gender-biases in education globally and how this has compounded women’s vulnerability through their lifetime.

Feminist scholars and political leaders will find great value in this book’s rich discussion of the “three shifts” that women politicians have to face — marriage, motherhood, and work. She provocatively challenges us to rethink the feminist critique of the third shift. The voices of the women leaders she interviews squarely challenge the ideas of a work/life balance — specifically recognizing that the choice between politics and family is a false choice. Ms. Morojele asks us to expect more of society, and she makes a strong case that women can and should have meaningful roles in politics and still be deeply engaged in family and relationships. To do any less underestimates women and the struggle themselves.

Women Political Leaders in Rwanda and South Africa: Narratives of Triumph and Loss covers some of the most original and important material I have seen on how women leaders view their national conflicts and the processes peace making

— truly bringing force to the idea of triumph and loss. Their narratives are moving and are rich in detail and insight. We learn about the sacrifices they made, the impact of the conflict on their lives, and how they approached the struggle and rebuilding their countries. Ms. Morojele has given us provocative material that can shift our understanding of both of women’s leadership and the impact of politics on women’s lives. She has a strength of analysis that give us a clear grasp of the significance of her findings, while at the same time allowing us to make our own conclusions and draw our own insights from these thoughtful and reflective narratives. You cannot leave the pages of this book unmoved or unchanged. I commend this work and what it will offer us for years to come.

Prof. H.E. Britton Director of the Center for the Study of Injustice at the Institute of Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas

Introduction

In early 2015 Rwanda had the world’s highest representation of women in a national legislature, with women holding 63.8% of the seats in the lower house. South Africa had the tenth highest representation level with 41.5% of seats in the lower house (Inter-Parliamentary Union 2015). These figures sharply contrast with those of just over two decades earlier. Before 1994, formal positions in politics and government in Rwanda and South Africa were largely closed to women. During Apartheid in South Africa women represented just 2.8% of the national parliament (Gobodo-Madikizela 2005). Before 1994 women were also extremely under-represented in Rwanda. In 1992 there were only three women ministers and twelve women Ministers of Parliament (MPs) out of a total of 70 (Sharlach 1999). Rwanda and South Africa’s 2015 representation figures also sharply contrast with the current global average of 22.2% women’s representation (Inter-Parliamentary Union 2015). For these reasons, Rwanda and South Africa are excellent case studies of women and politics. They enable us to understand how to quickly increase women’s political representation levels, as well as to understand what this means for politics, and women’s status in society.

A great portion of the literature on women and politics in these countries has asked the question of how it came to be that women’s representation levels could rise so significantly over a short period of time e.g. (Tripp n.d.; Geisler 2000; Yoon 2001; Hassim 2004; Ballington 1998; Britton 2002b). A second portion of the literature has interrogated what these women bring to politics in terms of substantive representation; what they have (or have not) achieved in institutional and legislative outcomes for women (e.g. Britton 2002a; Coffé 2012; Goetz 1998; Gouws 1996).

This book aims to contribute to this discourse, as well as expand on it. Through interviews with eleven women who have held formal political leadership positions since 1994 in Rwanda and South Africa, I explore the journeys and experiences that have led them to formal politics. I explore their social and political impact, as well as their challenges. Finally, I explore their early experiences as children and young adults, and their experiences of marriage and motherhood as political figures. All of this is to suggest three things. Firstly, while the women that I interviewed occupy important positions and are advantaged in certain ways, many of their experiences are no different from the ordinary women that they represent. I also suggest that there were specific moments and experiences in their lives that have continued to influence their political priorities today. Lastly, I will show that they have clear beliefs regarding women’s interests, based off their experiences, and that these have influenced their politics, but more than that, they are interested in representing all people, not only women.

Women in Politics

Since the 1990’s there have been countries in which women’s representation levels have increased drastically over a short period of time. These countries are known as ‘fast-track countries(Tripp & Kang 2008: 338; Dahlerup & Freidenvall 2006: 27). Sharp increases in women’s representation often occur in post-conflict periods where normal gender roles have been disrupted and women have taken on traditionally male roles. Families are divided and women take up leadership within the home and provide for the family. This has happened in countries such as Mozambique, Uganda, South Africa and Rwanda, amongst others (Uwineza & Pearson 2009). Not only are the gender roles disrupted, but so are the social and political institutions. It is for this reason that the post-conflict transition can present unique opportunities for women to access formal political positions, as this is a period that is more flexible and receptive to drastic changes (Debusscher & Ansoms 2013; Goetz et al. 2009; Kantengwa 2010).

Why is important to examine women in politics? Questions regarding women’s roles during this precious transition period from conflict to peace include; do women act differently and bring different skills than men do? If so, what are their contributions, and how do these enhance transformation? (Gobodo- Madikizela 2005). 80% of women MPs who participated in a survey conducted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in 1999 felt that, in general, women do change politics and improve public perceptions of politics. They also felt that women and men perceive politics and society differently, and a true democracy requires the participation of men and women. Many modern African states, in particular, have fought liberation wars and an African strand of feminism has arisen within this context. This feminism holds that women’s interests should be advanced within politics and the state, not only in the churches, academia, etc. (Gaidzanwa 2013). While the conflicts in some states are over, such as in Rwanda and South Africa, women have not been fully emancipated from various forms of inequalities and oppressions. For this reason, it is important to continually examine the status of women. In the area of women and politics we should explore the relationship between women and politics and what this means for society in general. In this book I explore not only women politicians, but I do so in relation to their contexts, as well as try to draw a link between their experiences and ordinary women.

The State of Women

There are regional disparities in terms of women’s social rights. These include rights to travel, obtain passports, initiate divorce, equal inheritance, etc. It is found that women’s social discrimination is highest in the Middle East, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa. In accessing economic rights, such as equal pay for equal work, job security etc. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of discrimination against women (A.M. Goetz et al. 2009).

In Sub-Saharan Africa in the period between 1999 and 2005, just 29% of married women had a final say in their own health care, 13% on large purchases, and only 35% had a say in daily purchases. Of unmarried women; 51% had no say over their own health care, 59% had no say over large purchases, and 43% had no say in daily purchases (A.M. Goetz et al. 2009). These figures are alarming. They indicate the dire status of women as second class citizens, and the patriarchal, gendered oppression that they experience on a daily basis.

However, research shows that when women are in positions to make decisions, they make those that benefit families and children. For example, in development it has been shown that if we invest in women, children are more likely to benefit than if we invest in men. Similarly, there are long term benefits to the health and education of children if women’s health and education is improved (Elizabeth Powley 2006). Fester (2007) makes an important point on this argument in the development field though. That is; why are we framing improving the lives of women as development issues? Shouldn’t we rather take the position that women have the right to have better lives; not just as a means to an end, but as an end in and of itself?

The importance of examining women and politics is evidenced by the fact that women’s activism has shown that men and women experience governance failures differently(A.M. Goetz et al. 2009). In other words, women are in the best position to know what other women require from politics and the state; men and women’s experiences in this area are different and so men are not able to know (never mind represent) the needs of women. In terms of the argument for increasing women’s representation in politics; many women politicians around the world feel that women have special skills and have more humanity in their politics

(Waring et al 2000).

Political and Conflict History

Before Rwanda was colonised, there were social differences in which the politically dominant clans were those who owned cattle and competed for domination over the settled agricultural populations. However, during colonisation the Germans, Belgians and Catholic Church subscribed to the theory of Hamitic racial superiority of the Tutsi, and cemented and made rigid the fluid divisions that existed. In 1930 the Belgian colonialists created identity cards that cemented their constructed ethnic divisions into Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. Before these relationships were not always adversarial. People lived together, sharing the same culture and language, and relationships were more individualised than based on ethnicity. The process of Rwanda’s independence from colonial rule began in the 1950s, but it was through a coup d’état, which was supported by the Belgians, that Rwanda became a Republic under majority Hutu rule. Hutu prefects were appointed to take over from former Tutsi chiefs and sub-chiefs. During this process the Tutsi were victimised and approximately 100 000 refugees, mostly those who supported the monarchy, went to Burundi, Congo, Uganda and Tanzania. This first group of exiles would stage border raids into Rwanda, which were ineffective, but ultimately helped the Hutu leadership to propagate Anti- Tutsi prejudices. With these raids there were reprisal massacres against those Tutsis who had remained in the country, which created subsequent waves of nonpolitical refugees out of Rwanda. The massacres against Tutsis in 1963 were called genocide by some in the international community (Long 2012; van der Meeren 1996). The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Rwanda’s liberation movement and current ruling party, was founded in exile by some Rwandan refugees in the 1980’s (Reed 1996).

Before the 1994 genocide Rwanda was governed by a single party and the dictatorship of President Habyarimana. In 1989 opposition parties began to demand liberalisation, and this occurred in the context of a civil society and international community that called for democratisation. In 1991 a civil war began when the RPF attacked Rwanda from outside the country. During the war Habyarimana faced military loses to the RPF as well as internal and international pressure, and was forced to the negotiating table. The subsequent 1993 Arusha Peace Accords outlined a plan for the country to transition to democratic elections and multi-party politics. This transition abruptly ended in April 1994 when Habyarimana was killed when his plane was shot down. Hutu extremists took over government and initiated the genocide against Tutsi and moderate Hutu. During this time the RPF reinitiated its military actions against the government army. The genocide and war ended when the RPF drove the Hutu government and extremist militias into exile, with about 2 million refugees (J. E. Burnet 2008).

Since then Rwanda has been praised for the rapid pace at which it has been able to rebuild itself, and there has been praise for the government for the delivery of services such as education and health. Amongst its achievements include low corruption levels, economic growth and a strong modernisation program to move Rwanda from a low-income to medium-income country. The RPF-led government has appointed women to important positions in government and the judiciary, women have been mainstreamed in the party itself, and there are reserved seats for women in the national parliament (Debusscher & Ansoms 2013). The RPF’s inclusion of women in decision-making positions arises out of their having been influenced by Uganda’s policies of women’s inclusion while they were refugees, as well the constitutional and representational success in South Africa (Elizabeth Powley 2006).

During the 1994 genocide Women in Rwanda experienced rape as a weapon of war, sexual slavery, having their children killed, fighting as soldiers, hiding from perpetrators, as well as fleeing pogroms before 1994, etc. They not only had these experiences as a result of their Tutsi ethnicity or Tutsi association, but also because of their gender. Beyond these violent experiences, their resilience in rebuilding Rwanda speaks to their strength and power, and has strongly influenced Rwandan society’s current ideas about women (Herndon & Randell 2013). A Rwandan leader, Chair of Parliament’s Human Rights Committee, said, ‘More than men, women are the victims of the war. They have different priorities to those of men...Women have faced discrimination so they want to put a stop to discrimination. All of this will contribute to preventing another genocide,’ (Quoted in Herndon & Randell 2013: 79).

Unfortunately, the genocide aggravated poverty levels, and more than 68% of women live below the poverty line (Kantengwa 2010). There is still extreme poverty in Rwanda, especially in the rural areas. Despite the rights that women have gained since 1994, those who work in the markets report still being exploited by their husbands (Herndon & Randell 2013). Indeed, Rwanda remains a mostly patriarchal society (Kantengwa 2010). The good news is that in 2003 Rwanda elected 48.8% women to its lower house in the national parliament, thereby having the highest representation of women in the world. In 2008 women won 56% of seats in the lower house, maintaining its global lead. This is evidence of a sustained commitment to women’s representation (Uwineza & Pearson 2009). What this means for all Rwandan women I interrogate in the following chapters.

As mentioned earlier, South African women’s legislative success was an influence on Rwanda. Just a few days before the genocide in Rwanda began, South African women won 26% of the seats in the national parliament (Uwineza & Pearson 2009). South African women were very active in the struggle against apartheid and they made important contributions both inside the country and outside in exile. Women were the first to take mass action against the Pass Laws in 1913 and did so again in the 1950’s. In exile many women received military training which led to them having some power within the movement (Ginwala 1990; b. Britton 2002a; Hassim 2004). Women formed their own organisations, such as the Federation of South African Women (FSAW), which was established in 1953 and drafted the Women’s Charter in 1954 (Anne Marie Goetz 1998). They also played important roles during the transition, not only through politics, but through the reconciliation process, such as commissioners, staff , and through witness testimony (especially testifying on behalf of other victims such as sons and husbands) at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Gobodo-Madikizela 2005).

Apartheid, and the systemised inequalities between the races, only became the law of the land in 1948, but before then Black people were already excluded from formal politics and were treated as second class citizens during British colonialism and the Union of South Africa. ‘Apartheid’ itself means separateness. In addition, Apartheid politics was a patriarchal system dominated by men (Gobodo-Madikizela 2005). Non-violent protest against the Apartheid regime ended in the 1960’s after the Sharpeville Massacre where peaceful protesters against the Pass where shot by the police, killing 69 people. The government then banned the ANC (African National Congress) and other anti-Apartheid organisations. This led to the ANC adopting an armed struggle through Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) (Graybill 2001). Some ANC women also received military training in MK, especially after 1976 (Geisler 2000; Hassim 2004).

The Apartheid state was a brutal regime that used violence against civilians (such as in the Sharpeville Massacre) and Anti-Apartheid activists. It used many types of interrogation including torture and solitary confinement without trial. Torture methods included physical assaults, sleep deprivation, and being forced to stand for long periods of time. Methods of torturing women were more gendered, such as the use of rape, forced intercourse, rape with objects, vaginal examinations and body searches. Women’s motherhood was also exploited; children were removed from them or their children’s lives were threatened as a torture method (Graybill 2001).

Despite women’s important contributions to the Anti-Apartheid struggle, they were considered the ‘silent backbone’ of the movement (Britton 2002a: 44). However, during the 1980’s women’s emancipation began to be addressed more within the ANC in exile and other movements within the country (Geisler 2000; Hassim 2004). For example, in the 1980’s the United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed, and comprised of about 400 anti-Apartheid organisations. Albertina Sisulu, who was one of the founders of the FSAW, was a co-president. There were many women’s organisations that were affiliated to the UDF, and they were able to persuade the leadership of the UDF to have non-sexism as one of its principles (Geisler 2000)'. The earlier limited acknowledgement of South African women’s status was not unusual. Around the world women’s liberation has taken a back seat to national liberation. However, in 1990 the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC issued a statement acknowledging that women’s liberation would not be a secondary effect of national liberation or of socialism. It stated that women’s emancipation needed to be directly addressed within the ANC, the democratic movement and within society (Geisler 2000; Hassim 2004).

In 1991 South African women’s organisations formed the Women’s National Coalition (WNC), which united around the common interest of ensuring that women were included in the transitional process and the shaping of a new South Africa (Britton 2002b). South African women had learned from the independence of neighbouring countries such as Namibia and Zimbabwe that gender equality and women’s representation would not happen unless they formed a united front and pushed for representation. One of their demands was that women had to be included in positions of decision-making power (Geisler 2000; Britton 2002b). Many of the women who arrived in parliament in 1994 arrived through the ANC candidate list and had been involved in the Anti-Apartheid movement and this women’s movement. During the first democratic elections the ANC was the only party to use women’s rights as a campaign topic (Geisler 2000).

Despite the phenomenal achievements of South Africa, particularly the WNC and ANC, in ensuring that women were included in the transition and in democratic governance, gender inequality is still a pervasive problem in South African society. Change will not be drastic or swift because it is approached from a reform basis, rather than a revolutionary basis. South Africa’s women continue to face patriarchy, gender-based violence, and poverty. They are still not treated as full citizens (Britton 2002a). Unfortunately, Black women are still the poorest

' For more about women’s structures and roles in the ANC in exile Hassim (2004) provides a historical analysis, including how women lobbied to have the ANC include non-sexism as one of its core principles.

demographic in South Africa and those who are employed are mostly in lowpaying jobs, such as domestic service; one of the far-reaching consequences of the Apartheid system (Graybill 2001).

International Women’s Movement

Women’s increased representation in Rwanda and South Africa have not occurred in isolation. A strong international women’s movement has been campaigning to have women represented in positions of decision-making power. There have been many pivotal moments and instruments in this international women’s movement. There was the United Nations Decade for Women which began in 1975, and included the call to have women equally included in governance. Many countries around the world have signed and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) which is a United Nations (UN) treaty that was adopted in 1979. CEDAW is the achievement of the advocacy and mobilisation of women around the world and in the UN. CEDAW sets standards for national policy aimed at the eradication of discrimination against women. It calls for the reform of institutions and laws for women’s rights, to have women and men equally represented in positions of political decision-making power, and to ensure that resources are made available to achieve those objectives. While many countries have ratified it, implementation results are mixed. Rwanda and South Africa have both ratified CEDAW (A.M. Goetz et al. 2009; Seager 2003). There is also the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) which has been signed by all 189 of the states that participated at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. It called on governments to implement measures for women’s equal participation in government (Dahlerup & Freidenvall 2006; Fallon et al. 2012). Many of the countries that adopted quotas after 1995, the year of the UN Conference on Women was held in Beijing, cite CEDAW and the (BPfA) as contributing factors (Tripp 2003). Women’s representation is also one of the indicators of the Millennium Development Goals (Goetz et al. 2009).

Despite these various instruments, women’s experiences of representation are not universal; rather, they are context specific and determined by a wide range of economic, political, and state factors ( Burnet 2011). As indicated previously, Rwanda and South Africa have amongst the highest levels of women’s representation in the world.

However, even within the Sub-Saharan region there is diversity in women’s representation. More recently, Sub-Saharan Africa has provided interesting and sometimes paradoxical instances of gains in women’s legislative impact. In 1997 the top ten countries in terms of women’s representation did not include any African countries except for the Seychelles, which was seventh. By 2014 there were three African countries on the list, including Rwanda, Seychelles and Senegal. South Africa ranked eleventh. These countries represent exceptions (including Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe in the top thirty countries represented). They are exceptions because the average Sub-Saharan African level of women’s representation was just 22.1% in 2014 (Inter-Parliamentary Union 2005).

Previous Literature

The body of literature on women and politics is too extensive to summarise here.” However, within that genre there is a large body of work on women’s legislative representation. This research investigates how women enter legislatures and what impact they have. The research mostly consists of western case studies, which offers little insights into other contexts (Devlin & Elgie 2008). The general research on women and political leadership has looked at the use of gender quotas in terms of what forms they take, their effects, and what kinds of countries are most likely to adopt them (Dahlerup 2007; Tripp 2003).

Other literature on the topic of women and politics is concerned with examining whether women’s increased representation has an impact on legislation, and results have been mixed e.g. (Barnes & Burchard 2012; Bratton 2005). Yet newer work in the area is starting to make the argument that numbers are not the most important indicator of the impact of women’s representation, rather it is better to consider how individuals act to make a change e.g (Celis et al. 2008; Childs & Krook 2009). Previous research on Rwanda and South Africa focuses on women’s legislative impact, but also on how these countries have been able to attain the representation levels that they have.

? Kunovich et al (2007) provides one of the most comprehensive review articles on women and politics, but focusing on women’s formal political participation. They find that the areas of research that should be expanded include understanding other ways that women can have political agency, to address intersectionality (the meeting of different identities), and also the need for more data collection.

Firstly, there is a large body of research that focuses on women’s experiences of genocide in Rwanda e.g. (Hogg 2010; Maier 2013; Sharlach 1999). A separate body of work on women in Rwanda has asked whether their high level of representation has had an impact on legislation and women’s lives. The findings are mixed, with some making the argument that Rwandan women cannot have a real impact as they are constrained by what some are calling an authoritarian regime (Tripp n.d.; Burnet 2008; Debusscher & Ansoms 2013). Other literature has made the argument that women political leaders are making a significant impact on Rwandan society, though with some challenges e.g. (Coffé 2012; Kantengwa, 2010; Powley 2005; Powley 2006; Uwineza & Pearson 2009). Others argue that there have been mixed results in terms of legislative and social impact (Devlin & Elgie 2008; Herndon & Randell 2013).