B . Considering Women ’ s Agency and Equality in the Humanitarian Response to Rwanda ’ s Genocide ( Lesson # 2679 )
Observation .
Humanitarian responses that focus on the post-conflict needs of women should address the needs of all women and not just specific groups . Successful humanitarian responses will distribute needed goods and services among all members of the affected population regardless of victim identity or their perceived political affiliation .
Discussion .
From 2011 through 2013 , I served as a Peace Corps volunteer and English instructor in Rwanda . I was evacuated in December of 2013 due to insecurity and unrest . My experience in a post-conflict country was colored by the dark past shared by the Rwandan people , as well as by current politics that made it almost impossible to have an open dialogue about elements of that history . In 1994 , following the assassination of President Juvenal Habyarimana , Rwanda erupted into genocide . Provoked by members of the former president ’ s party and influential radio personalities , both Rwandan military personnel and Hutu civilians , called Interhamwe , were mobilized to eradicate the Tutsi ethnic group . In the span of 100 days from April to July , approximately 800,000 people were killed . In that time , thousands of women and also men experienced rape as a weapon of war . Although there are a variety of different estimates , it is widely reported that approximately 250,000 women were raped in this time .
Humanitarian response to the genocide emphasized aid for women survivors of the genocide . As the Rwandan Patriotic Front ( RPF ) gained power in Rwanda , many Hutus fled to neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo ( DRC ) out of fear that they would be killed by the new regime if they stayed . As a result , the international community rallied around Tutsi victims who remained in the country , providing them with funding and services . These efforts failed to acknowledge that Hutu women now living in refugee camps in the DRC were also the targets of violence , either because they were moderates , married or related to Hutus , or because they were targeted by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army , now affiliated with the RPF and the current ruling party of Rwanda .
The response created a “ hierarchy of victimhood ,” which valued the experiences of Tutsi women over those of Hutu women . Naturally , this hierarchy was not without consequence . The international community had created a dynamic in which women ’ s primary identity was one of “ victim ,” which stripped women of their ability to be identified as anything else . This was problematic in instances where women had actually served as combatants under the RPF or were in need of assistance because they had lost their spouse , family members , home , or property . Further , by focusing on experiences of sexual violence , the international community failed to see or address the needs of women who may not have needed services for sexual or gender-based violence but rather had become widowed or lost family members . Notably , there were discrepancies in reporting between international organizations and local courts . Women were encouraged to report rape to international aid organizations but were discouraged from reporting to local courts due to the stigma they might face from their communities for sharing their stories in public .
In the years I lived in Rwanda , the remnants of unevenly distributed aid were still apparent in the un-talkedabout race relations between Rwandans who still identified as either Hutu or Tutsi despite government censorship of the use of those terms . While global concern for women who had been raped because of the genocide did , in many ways , catalyze systems that led to better awareness , resources , and inclusion of those victims , those systems remained imperfect and , in many ways , allowed for the continued exclusion of Hutu
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