While undertaking this research, the main objective was to assess the potentiality of the quota system for women’s representation and political empowerment in Rwandan local government. To do this, close attention is drawn to the quota system’s assumptions and practices in Rwanda’s local government in relation to women’s interests. Different concepts and theories such as quota discourses, women’s representation, political participation, power and empowerment have driven the theoretical framework. The empirical data collected through semi structured and open ended interviews, focus group discussions, observation and documentation have been tightly analyzed and confronted with the theoretical elements using the frame of intersectionality. In this regard, the study used specific indicators as focus points of the research process. These are: the electoral procedure, the background of women elected on quota, the bargaining power of individual women in decision-making process, the positions they hold in different organs in the District Council and the perceptions of the system by different groups of women as a mechanism for their political representation and empowerment. The study mainly used empirical data. Due to time constraints, the research area was limited to local government in Huye District. This means that all primary data have been gathered from that district and therefore the result will not be generalised to the entire country. Rather, this research may serve as a call for other researchers to address issues raised in this study area, and explore further what is going on elsewhere in Rwanda concerning women’s political representation. Rwanda introduced the quota system in 2003, and as a result is the country with the highest proportional representation of women in the world, with 48.8% in parliament and 40.2% in local government. Currently, women hold public office and constitute the subject of public debate in Rwanda. However, this study argues that the road ahead is still long to achieve effective political representation of women in local government. There are many factors which hinder the performance of the quota system such as political patronage, class relations, power relation and patriarchy. Most of the time, the system is hijacked for the benefit of elite women. These elite women are political cronies of the ruling party, and they are mainly perceived as keeping close party to grass-roots control. The quota system does not go beyond numerical representation to allow for representation of women’s interests especially poor women. The quota system does not I acknowledge the diversity of women but rather homogenizes them.

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Zarkov, Dubravka
hdl.handle.net/2105/7218
Public Policy and Management (PPM)
International Institute of Social Studies

Bayisenge, Fortunée. (2008, January). The Quota System in Rwandan Local Government: Women's Representation and Political Empowerment. Public Policy and Management (PPM). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2105/7218