Abstract
Burnet addresses how Rwanda became the global leader in terms of expanding women’s inclusion in politics. In 2008, Rwanda was the first country in the world to elect a female-majority parliament. Women realized this achievement in large part thanks to a gender quota system instituted in 2003. Beyond achieving gender parity in the legislature, Rwanda has adopted numerous laws since 1995 that promote and enhance protection of women’s rights. These laws have placed sexual violence during the genocide among the gravest genocide crimes; extended equal inheritance rights to girl children; ensured women’s rights to land ownership and wives’ rights to have their names appear along with their husbands on deeds; and criminalized marital rape, domestic violence, and other forms of gender-based violence.
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Burnet, J.E. (2019). Rwanda: Women’s Political Representation and Its Consequences. In: Franceschet, S., Krook, M.L., Tan, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_38
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