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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 10, No. 9

Publication Date: September 25, 2023

DOI:10.14738/assrj.109.15536.

Tangwe, A. T., Ntakirutimana, E., & Niyibizi, E. (2023). Education for Women Empowerment: Perceptions and Experiences of Female

University Graduates in Rwanda. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(9). 302-317.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Education for Women Empowerment: Perceptions and

Experiences of Female University Graduates in Rwanda

Abraham Tamukum Tangwe

ORCID: 0000-0002-3041-8008

Protestant University of Rwanda, P.O. Box 619, Butare, Rwanda

Edouard Ntakirutimana

ORCID: 0000-0002-5057-0699

Protestant University of Rwanda, P.O. Box 619,

Butare, Rwanda, University of Bamberg

Emmanuel Niyibizi

Protestant University of Rwanda, P.O. Box 619,

Butare, Rwanda, University of Bamberg

ABSTRACT

Despite the quantitative representativity of women in decision making in the

political bodies and education, less is still known about their post-university

experiences at the self- and social levels. The study at hand examines the

perceptions and experiences of female university graduates in Rwanda. Personnel

curricular planning or quality services frameworks are dependent on

representations of a genderless society and rest on a mind-set of presumed

objectivity and merit-informed decisions. This paper is centred on education for

women empowerment with the focus on their perceptions and experiences as

graduates from the universities in Rwanda. The paper’s objective was to

understand their empowerment and acceptance by society and assess the level of

challenges that they are encountering after higher education. Due to its exploratory

nature, a qualitative research approach was adopted to collect data from 7

participants purposely selected from diverse professions. The data were analysed

using content analysis with iterative deductive–inductive identifications of themes

and from the findings of the study it is expected that the participants would indicate

their perception of the change in their status after leaving higher education, the

treatment they are confronted with at the level of their families, and the society, the

manner in which they perceive themselves with other women who are less

educated, and how despite their attainment of tertiary education, they are still

confronted with a myriad of challenges. In perspective, this paper would identify

policy and research recommendations that can go a long way to stem the tides.

Keywords: Women empowerment, women education, gender, development, social justice

INTRODUCTION

The focus of this study is to reflect the perceptions of the female gender in Rwanda after

graduating from higher institutions of learning. The gender monitoring office in Rwanda

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Tangwe, A. T., Ntakirutimana, E., & Niyibizi, E. (2023). Education for Women Empowerment: Perceptions and Experiences of Female University

Graduates in Rwanda. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 10(9). 302-317.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.109.15536

(2019), positions the dignity and ability of men and women as equitable, and hence, the

availability of opportunities cannot be disaggregated. In view of this, any policy failure that

jeopardises measures to promote gender equality cannot be overcome via isolated ventures in

any structure (Reilly, 2021). Reflecting on empirical studies on the female gender regarding

their life after tertiary education, western scholars are calling the shots. They do this with a

very strong propensity to gauge the perception of women through lenses that are unilateral

(Reilly, 2021) and akin to them. This paper sets out to critically examine the socio-economic

and political status of Rwandese women after graduating from higher institutions of learning.

We shall begin by framing the context of the study through which the problem shall be specified.

We proceed to identify the theoretical orientation of the paper. This is followed by the

identification of the thematic out view, methods, findings, and discussions.

Background and Problem

Gender discrimination and inequality always emanate from social and cultural norms (see

CARE, 2019) and are blown up physically, psychologically, socially, sexually, and financially. At

the global, regional, and national levels, each context seeks to handle gender equality by

creating institutions in their societies wherein women contribute and benefit from the

development and empowerment process (UNESCO 2015; Reilly, 2021). Anchoring this position

is the commonwealth strategic plan (2017) that directly interconnects this with gender

mainstreaming as a strategy needed to attain gender equality by rigorously injecting the gender

perspective into all policies and actions. The exacerbation of the foregoing is the complication

of the complex nature of the concept of gender intersectionality. Intersectionality, therefore,

results from diverse power relations, experiences, and social locations (Reilly, 2021). The

cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism,

and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized

individuals or groups (Woodroffe & Daigle, 2017). According to the United Nations sustainable

development goals report, (2022), it would take another 40 years for women and men to be

represented equally in national political leadership. Furtherance to this, women accounted for

39% of total employment in 2019 but it dropped by 45% of global employment losses to the

female gender. In the African setting, the education of the girl child strengthens their social,

economic, and health benefits and reinforces their competences for work as well as providing

added value to their life including their families (Rubagiza et al., 2022; Woodroffe & Daigle,

2017). The girl child in Africa is still disadvantaged, suffering from discrimination, and hyper- masculinity, and fails to acquire the benefits of education and training (Reilly, 2021; Rubagiza

et al., 2022).

The Rwandan government in its strategic gender framework of 2021, in priority area 2,

indicates a holistic acceleration of women’s economic empowerment and in priority area 3,

pledges its determination to promote gender equality and equity in all facets of the society and

in a sustainable manner. Realising these inclusive policies requires a robust approach to ensure

success. A common denominator depends on monitoring and follow-up that is completely at

variance with the mitigating factors of gender-based violence (GBV), still prevalent in Rwanda

like sexual violence, physical violence, economic violence, psychological and structural violence

(Slegh & Kimonyo, 2010). In the area of gender equality and empowerment of women, it

recognizes the centrality of gender, and the authorities in Rwanda are targeting mainstreaming

across all sectors (UNESCO 2015; CARE, 2019), and continue to review policies and legal

instruments to ensure that the empowerment of women and girls are pegged on strong policy

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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 10, Issue 9, September-2023

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

and legal frameworks (Rubagiza et al., 2022). Moreover, the Rwandan gender monitoring office

(2019), shows that gender equality and the fundamental rights of women are by law assured a

minimum 30% quota for women in all decision-making institutions by the constitution of

Rwanda.

The government of Rwanda factors in diverse policies and legal frameworks to pursue gender

equality. In its National Gender Policy (2021), it advocates gender equality and equity in

national and sustainable transformation. Such a vision is realistic if the indicators like poverty,

education and training, health, and violence against women in addition to women in power and

decision-making (UN Indicators of Gender Equality, 2015), are judiciously harnessed and

handled. Moreover, the 2013 law governing land and the constitution accords women equal

rights to men in view of making decisions and owning and using property and land (Rwanda,

2003, Art. 29; Rwanda, 2013, Art. 4). The government completely bars discrimination on

account of gender at the workplace and same pay for equal work at the place of work (OECD,

2019). In spite of the plethora of these legal instruments and the government’s yearning to

ensure equity, female gender discrimination in the family is 38%, restricted physical integrity,

21%, restricted access to productive and financial resources 26%, and restricted civil liberties

24% (OECD, 2019). The Rwandan government and its partners are committed to the education

of the girl child through an inclusive policy thereby, supporting education for all and national

development (Stavropoulou & Gupta-Archer, 2017).

Despite this vast array of empirical work (Rubagiza et al., 2022; UNESCO 2015; CARE, 2019;

Slegh & Kimonyo, 2010; Reilly, 2021; Woodroffe & Daigle, 2017), and government policy

documents that indicate efforts at gender empowerment and development, there is no research

on the fate of the female gender upon completion of higher education in Rwanda. It is important

and crucial to understanding how they are integrated into society and their local communities.

It is imperative to find out about their social status, professional life, marital status, family life,

and how they are perceived through the cultural norm lenses. Consequently, this paper

commences this reflection and serves as an awareness-creation tool. It would provide visibility

to the blurriness of this concept and add to the array of studies in this area by approaching the

problem with the use of a different lens. Consequently, it seeks to understand how women are

treated in the society after graduating from Rwandan institutions of higher learning and the

challenges ensuing from the new status of women. This would be reflected in the framework of

understanding how women are empowered after graduating from higher learning institutions

of Rwanda and the challenges that are still inherent. Hence, the principal question to answer

with this paper seeks to understand how women are perceived in Rwanda after attaining

tertiary education.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The concept of gender indicates the social, cultural, and psychological differences between the

masculine and female sex [1]. Corroborating this view, other empirical studies (Rubagiza et al.,

2022; Woodroffe & Daigle, 2017) reinforces this by explicitly designating the attributes and

norms as socially constructed between the different genders. Gender remains hierarchical and

leads to inequalities (Reilly, 2021). In each context and society, all gender defects are dependent

on hierarchical organigrams, cultural, and diverse power dynamics which are visible in both

the female and male sex. Development denotes the lopsided growth of systems (Mario, 2019).

Reyes (2001) and aptly demonstrates development as a social condition within a nation,