Rwanda
Data on women
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Basic information > About parliament
Speaker
Speaker
Donatille
Mukabalisa
(Female)
Year of birth
1960
Additional information
Re-elected on 18 Sep. 2018.
Secretary general
Secretary General
Kambanda
Jeannine
(Female)
Notes
Additional information about the Secretary General, in particular regarding their term.
Appointed on 13 Sep. 2016.
Members
Current number of members, by sex
Men
The number of male parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
31
Women
The number of female parliamentarians who currently hold seats in parliament.
Percentage of women
Calculated by dividing the current number of women by the current number of members.
Age
Average age of all members
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
46.81
Youngest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
Youngest member
Clarisse Imaniriho (Female)
Oldest member (years)
Age at the time of the last election or renewal.
68
Oldest member
Fidèle Rwigamba (Male)
Total number of MPs, 45 years of age or younger
Total number of MPs, 46 years of age or older
Total per sex
Total of male
Total of female
Total per age interval
18-20
0
31-40
41-45
46-50
51-60
71-80
0
81-90
0
91 and over
0
Number of members, by age
| 18 - 20 | 21 - 30 | 31 - 40 | 41 - 45 | 46 - 50 | 51 - 60 | 61 - 70 | 71 - 80 | 81 - 90 | 91 and over | Totals per gender | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals per age interval | 0 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 17 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total <= 45: 40 | Total >= 46: 40 | ||||||||||
| Male | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Female | 0 | 1 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
Reserved seats and quotas
Number of reserved seats, by group
Women
24
Electoral quota for women
Quotas to promote the representation of women in parliament.
Notes
‘Twenty four (24) female Deputies shall be elected by specific organs in accordance with national administrative entities. A Presidential Order shall determine a national administrative entity and the number of women Deputies to be elected at each entity. At each entity through which election has been conducted, candidates who obtain more votes shall be considered as elected’ ( https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas )
Elections > Election results
Results
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
31
Number of women elected
49
Percentage of women elected
The percentage is calculated by dividing the number of women elected in the election and the number of seats at stake at the election.
61.25%
Number of women after election or renewal, by mode of designation
Women Directly Elected
24
Women Indirectly Elected
24
Women Other
1
New legislature
Total number of men after the election
The total number of male parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
31
Total number of women after the election
The total number of female parliamentarians in this parliament/chamber following the election or renewal, regardless of their modes of designation.
49
First Speaker of the new legislature
First Speaker of the new legislature
First name of the Speaker of the new legislature following the election or renewal.
Donatille
Mukabalisa
(Female)
Political party
Rwandan Patriotic Front (FPR)
Date of election
19.09.2018
Elections > Historical data on women
Women's suffrage
Date of independence
For countries that become independent after 1940
1962
Women’s right to vote
Women’s right to vote
Year in which women obtained the right to vote
1961
National or local
Suffrage: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage
Suffrage: Restricted or Universal
Universal
Notes
Suffrage: Additional Notes on right of suffrage
Prior to independence, the Legislative Decree of Rwanda - Urundi (L.D.R.U.) N° 02/269, issued by the Belgian administration of the UN Trust territory on 17 August 1961 (and first exercised in the legislative elections on 25 September 1961) granted universal suffrage to women. This right was confirmed at independence when suffrage was granted in the 1962 Constitution.
Women’s right to stand for election
Women's right to stand for election
Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1961
National or local
Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage
Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Restricted
Detail of restrictions
Stand for Election: Restrictions detail
Right to stand for election was granted for all positions except that of President (granted in 1978, in the new constitution)
Women's right to stand for election
Year in which women obtained the right to stand for election
1978
National or local
Stand for Election: National or Local
National
Restricted or unrestricted suffrage
Stand for Election : Restricted or Universal
Universal
First woman in parliament
First woman in parliament
Year in which first woman entered parliament
1981
First woman speaker
Year of first woman speaker
Date at which, for the first time in the country's parliamentary history, a woman became Presiding Officer of Parliament or of one of its Houses.
2008
Specialized body - Women's caucus
Rwandan Women's Parliamentary Forum (RWPF)
(January 1996)
Formal or informal
Formal
The caucus is open to male MPs
No
The caucus is cross-party
No
Notes
In addition, men interested in joining the caucus can be granted membership by the General Assembly. Members of the Rwandan parliament and other politicians who so request are also welcome to join the Caucus.
There are rules governing the functioning of the caucus
Yes
Activities
Issues dealt with by the caucus
- Women parliamentarians have contributed to the establishment of a legal and policy framework providing a clear mandate for gender equality in the Rwandan Parliament, helping to forge the national political will needed to pass the the 2003 Constitution and related legislation on the electoral process, gender-based violence, inheritance, labour, nationality and citizenship, access to reproductive healthcare, crime (including the Penal Code and the criminalization of rape during genocide) and the governance of political parties.
- Legislation on the rights of children, a Family Code, and gender mainstreaming in the national budget.
- Yes
- The number of women in Rwanda's parliament is high, with women accounting for 56.3% of all seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 38.5% of all seats in the Senate.
- Legislation on the rights of children, a Family Code, and gender mainstreaming in the national budget.
- Yes
- The number of women in Rwanda's parliament is high, with women accounting for 56.3% of all seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 38.5% of all seats in the Senate.
The caucus has a strategic plan or plan of action
Yes
The caucus has a communication plan
No
Contact information for the Committee
Address
Chantal Mbakeshimana, Chairperson of RWPF
Speciose Nyiraneza, Coordinator of RWPF