Responding to Genocide: Women-Centered Organizing in Post-Conflict Rwanda
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Date
2023
Authors
Bamer, Ellie
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Women are uniquely impacted in genocide and in conflict, and Rwanda is no exception. This makes justice for women especially important in the context of post-conflict rebuilding and reconciliation. This paper looks at post-conflict Rwanda and four of the responses that emerged in the aftermath of the genocide to rebuild and provide justice to victims and survivors of the genocide: the International Criminal Court for Rwanda, the Rwandan national courts, the Gacaca community court, and women-led and women-centered organizing. In reviewing these four types of responses, this paper examines how these responses impacted women in Rwanda. It also distinguishes between formal and informal responses compares how these responses addressed the needs of women in Rwanda. Findings suggest that though informal and formal responses cannot be compared to one another, due to their inherent differences in practices and goals, informal organizing is a necessary aspect of post-conflict rebuilding and reconciliation. Women-centered organizing is often excluded from the dominant formal spaces, but in the context of post-conflict and post-genocide spaces and time frames, it is a necessary response to provide the support and community that women need in the aftermath of conflict and genocide.
Description
51 pages
Keywords
Rwanda, Genocide, Organizing, Women, Responses