The Will to Political Power: Rwandan Women in Leadership

Rwanda has one of the highest representations of women in parliament in the world. This article examines, from the perspective of a female MP in parliament, the dynamics behind the process of supporting more women assuming leadership positions in parliament. The article argues that the implementation of an electoral gender quota certainly carves the space necessary to allow more women to enter politics, nevertheless, a constellation of factors is needed to work together in order to create the enabling environment necessary for the quota to be effective. Some of these factors include (but are not restricted to) challenging the hierarchical gender relations in post?genocide Rwanda; the political will on the part of the government to engender politics; the role of national machineries in monitoring and pressing for gender?sensitive national policies, as well as the strategic mobilisation of female parliamentarians backed by the progressive new Rwandan constitution.