The composition of the Chamber of Deputies of Rwanda in 2018: achievements and difficulties for gender equality

This article is part of the field of studies on the recent history of Rwanda and its political elites, and focuses on the participation of women in the chamber of deputies. Rwanda has gained international prominence due to the significant participation of women in parliament, in which 61.3% of the seats in the Chamber of Deputies are occupied by women, the highest rate in the world. In order to better understand this participation of women in the chamber of deputies, the concept of gender is essential to explain how some differences in social recognition between men and women are reflected in the political field. This occurs as gendered relationships are also historical constructions that are molded from different contexts, cultures and traditions. To deepen the debate, make a survey of data about Rwandan and Rwandan parliamentarians, in order to analyze generational and political cleavages in the relations against the gendered relations of society. Finally, the conservatism and authoritarianism of current Rwandan politics allows us to identify the limits to the inclusion of Rwandan women, in which violence and their submission in the private sphere seem to contrast with the quantitative advances in legislative seats.