Rwanda

Fallout from Genocide

There has long been a turbulent history between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis, with the tension accelerating after Belgian colonists arrived in 1916 and classified Tutsis as superior to Hutus. In 1962, with Rwandan independence, the ethnic tension began to gradually reach a boil, leading up to the 1994 Hutu extremists genocide in April and June.

Approximately 800,000 Tutsis as well as Hutu moderates were slaughtered in just 100 days, and another 200,000 women were systematically raped with mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission and infant/mother mortality spiraling out of this gender-based violence. The mother mortality rate among 100,000 live births is estimated at 1,400; the infant mortality rate is correspondingly high, twice the world average. AIDS, alongside TB, malaria, and diarrheal-diseases, are cited as leading causes of maternal and infant death. Although monogamy is law, many widowed mothers in-need contribute to polygamy practices, furthering the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Access to maternal care imposes additional motherhood risks. Over half of mothers deliver their babies at home, with under half of these births attended by skilled caregivers. Rwanda is working to expand childbirth resources by increasing availability of trained health personnel in remote areas. Despite these strides, many mothers die or suffer [Page 1096]debilitating injuries because of inadequate pre- and postnatal care. Mothers of children conceived from genocidal rapes face added health care exclusions; many live in isolation, shunned by families wanting little to do with Hutu militia offspring.

Rwanda's birthrate is high, a repopulation response to genocide. Influenced by Catholicism, abortion is permitted only as a lifesaving device. Similarly, birth control is stigmatized, although in efforts to reduce overpopulation strains, lawmakers are considering policies aimed at limiting family size. Government directives to strengthen birth control and HIV/AIDS education are also shaping contemporary motherhood practices. Globally, the United Nations is one of countless transnational agencies with Rwandan sectors promoting gender equality causes—and, by extension, mothering interests. While ideologically promising, Rwanda's reform efforts are constrained by a war-torn infrastructure, plagued by home and surrounding ethnic reconciliation conflicts. Although challenges to reduce maternal risk loom large, Rwanda has positioned women as majority voices in Parliament, sanctioning political agency to those perceived most apt to advance motherhood concerns.

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