Countering centuries-old tradition is akin to swimming upstream in a strong current. That was the challenge faced by the governance of the Rwanda Red Cross in 2006 when it adopted statutes and internal regulations which ensured gender equality and diversity at all levels of the National Society, from the national to the local level. The statutes clearly say that, in each committee, at all levels, when the president is a man, the vice-president should be a woman, and vice-versa.
Traditionally, women were not part of decision-making bodies and were rarely leaders, and this was accepted as a matter of course. But these new rules wanted to make sure that youth and women were no longer under-represented in the activities of the Rwanda Red Cross. The second challenge was how to implement them.
The magic words are information, sensitization and advocacy. Before elections to governing committees – local and national – took place, the new statutes, their meaning and their consequences, were explained to staff and volunteers, at all levels of the National Society. Promoting diversity internally is a pre-condition for efficiently addressing discrimination in society.
“Non-discrimination and the celebration of diversity are an intrinsic part of the fundamental principles and humanitarian values which underpin all our work and actions, as members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,” explains Mr Apollinaire Karamaga, secretary general of the Rwanda Red Cross.
“We are proud that the Rwanda Red Cross was able to achieve concrete recognition of the equality of men and women. Today, half of our senior staff, directors and programme managers, are women, and three of the eleven members of our Governing Board, are women.”
Today, women are represented at all levels, from the smallest structures of the Rwanda Red Cross – the cell committees at the grassroots level – to the Governing Board, which until 2008, did not count a single woman. In each seven-member district committee, a minimum of two seats are reserved for women. Other members can be either men or women.
The other major factor which made this project a success was wide consultation and agreement on specific objectives and strategies for promoting non-discrimination. The full involvement of members and volunteers in their implementation is also crucial to achieving positive results.
“For it to be effective, the promotion of non-discrimination and respect for diversity must have a strong legal or policy basis at the highest level, otherwise, changes will come, but very slowly,” notes Mr Karamaga.
The favorable national political environment also played a key role in the success of this initiative. Rwanda has policies and laws which guarantee equal opportunities for men and women in all activities and the country holds the world record of the percentage of women parliamentarians: 56.3%, just ahead of Sweden, at 46.4%.
Within Rwanda Red Cross training courses, women constitute at least 30% of participants, and they are encouraged to be active in all community-based projects. When disaster strikes or a crisis occurs, they are given priority in the distribution of humanitarian aid because they are usually among the most vulnerable groups and because they share the assistance they receive with children and the elderly.
In Rwanda, tradition has it that women also often carry heavy family responsibilities. This reality gives them an advantage in the ability to establish trusting relations with orphans or other vulnerable children, as well as with other groups of people in need. Consequently, women are often asked to take on responsibilities in giving psychosocial counseling.
As the Rwanda Red Cross has proven, swimming upstream has its rewards.