Women’s Participation in the Rwandan Genocide: Mothers or Monsters?

Citation:

Hogg, Nicole. 2010. “Women’s Participation in the Rwandan Genocide: Mothers or Monsters?” International Review of the Red Cross 92 (877): 69–102. doi:10.1017/S1816383110000019.

Author: Nicole Hogg

Abstract:

The participation of women in the 1994 Rwandan genocide should be considered in the context of gender relations in pre-genocide Rwandan society. Many ‘ordinary’ women were involved in the genocide but, overall, committed significantly fewer acts of overt violence than men. Owing to the indirect nature of women’s crimes, combined with male ‘chivalry,’ women may be underrepresented among those pursued for genocide-related crimes, despite the broad conception of complicity in Rwanda’s Gacaca Law. Women in leadership positions played a particularly important role in the genocide, and gendered imagery, including of the ‘evil woman’ or ‘monster’, is often at play in their encounters with the law.

Topics: Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Genocide, Violence Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2010

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