RWANDA: To What Extent Is Country Feminist?

Opinion: A survey by the Gender Monitoring Office, reported in the Wednesday, June 6, 2012, issue of The New Times, raised some concerns that women representation in leadership across various sectors is not as should be expected. It suggests that more needs to be done to raise their participation.

This not withstanding, some notable achievements have been gained if one compares with other countries in the region and beyond. Rwanda continues to be cited among the global leaders for gender policies that aim to advance the woman's cause.

It so clear that Rwanda mobilizes for women's emancipation and gender equality; but would the policies be described as feminist?

The question has often come up, to which it would also be: does it matter whether Rwanda is feminist or not?

To put this in perspective, let me give a little personal anecdote from a recent trip in West Africa.

During a feminist workshop I happened to be part of, as the only man, there came that break session where participants do a physical exercise to help them "keep awake".

Those who have attended workshops know that the mind tends to stray, or one could easily fall asleep, especially after one of those sumptuous workshop lunches.

In this particular exercise, we used the children's song popularly known as, "Head, shoulders, knees and toes." It is especially popular in workshops for its brief and rejuvenating light exercise routine that involves reaching for the mentioned parts of the body as you sing along.

It seems that the feminist have their own version. The participants were reminded that in the feminist version of the song they always include, mentioning it by name, that part of the female anatomy located "somewhere in the middle".

I was momentarily taken aback and wondered whether I should be part of this. To participate in the exercise would be tantamount to being part of a séance or some kind of ritual of affirmation that I did not necessarily subscribe to. But I kept my peace.

So, as they stretched and sang along, they also gestured and named the part in its appropriate position between the "shoulder" and the "knees" in the song's progression.

To participate, it was explained that since I don't own that part of the female anatomy, I could mention "my part" and conclude the song, referring to the other mentioned parts of the body, emphasizing that "they all belong to me."

The message became clear, and more so being familiar with a region that has suffered so much sexual and gender-based violence. It was about personal empowerment. And by insisting on the female anatomy they were playing to the popular feminist epigram, "the personal is political."

Feminism has its various strands with movements that range between, on the one hand, those who are radical and may not consider men in their midst, and, on the other, those who consider themselves liberal.

Liberal feminism sees all people as equal. They see sexism as dysfunctional because it deprives society of one half of its creative potential. Women's oppression exists because of our socialization process. So, to what extent is Rwanda feminist?

To put it another way; does one need to be a feminist to believe that sexism deprives society of one half of its creative potential? I don't think so.