Rwanda

Rwanda is broadly divided in two two identifiable ethnic groups. Hutus make up about 85% of the population with the Tutsis making up most of the remaining 15%. Historically Tutsis were politically dominant.

Some historians have suggested that this strict tribal divide only appeared after the area became dominated by the Kingdom of Belgium. Attempts to blame Europeans for ethnic divides in the rest of the world are common today.

In 1959 Hutus took over the nation in a revolution following many years of violence between the groups. At this time Rwanda was a single territory with neighbouring Burundi. Rwanda became independent in 1960 with a Hutu majority who dominated politically. While low level conflict between the two groups continued from the 1960s this increased in severity significantly after 1990. In 1990 the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) which had formed among exiled Tutsis invaded Rwanda. This conflict continued until 1993. On 6 April 1994 a plane carrying the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi, both Hutus, was shot down. Following this the government of Rwanda directed militia groups to take revenge on the Tutsi minority. Thus began the Rwanda genocide which is generally considered to have lasted from 7 April to 15 July 1994.

Genocide

The Rwanda genocide was genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994.

Between 6 April and 17 July 1994 500000-1000000 Rwandans were murdered in a genocide. This from a total population seven million. Those murdered were principally educated, urban dwelling and male. Murder of Tutsi women became more common at the gencide continued. By the time the genocide had ended Rwanda was 70% female.

In Rwanda ethnicity passes down the male line. Thus a Hutu man married to a Tutsi woman would be considered to have Hutu children who would not be massacred.

Researchers have noted that Hutu men married to Tutsi women were sometimes able to protect their wives. This usually happened when they knew leading figures in the death squads or, in some cases, a neighbour knew them and was willing to intervene.

It is well documented that large numbers of women were active participants in the genocide, in which they killed men, woman and children. Many commentators claim this was unusual but a review of history demonstrates that it was in fact entirely typical.

The next census in 2002 which put the country at about 55% female. This is not necessarily contradictory when we consider that many Rwandans had fled and may have returned after the genocide. We might also have seen men from neighbouring countries being attracted to Rwanda by the number of available women.

• https://archive.is/wNTqF
• https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/07/29/487360094/invisibilia-no-one-thought-this-all-womans-debate-team-could-crush-it
• https://archive.is/0YMBq
• https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Rwanda.htm
• https://archive.is/etFaV
• https://www.proquest.com/blog/pqblog/2017/Perspectives-on-the-Evolving-Role-of-Women-in-Rwanda.html
• https://archive.is/4as1z

Additional info:

• https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1193&context=gsp
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/967909/total-population-of-rwanda-by-gender/

Quote

“The genocide in Rwanda is a far-reaching tragedy that has taken a particularly hard toll on women. They now comprise 70 percent of the population, since the genocide chiefly exterminated the male population.” --Aloysia Inyumba

Census Data

• http://rwanda.countrystat.org/fileadmin/user_upload/countrystat_fenix/congo/docs/Census_A%20synthesis%20report_0_0.pdf

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