THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE The Rwandan genocide was a product of many complex factors and contributors, both internal and external, but centered around the ethnic conflict between and hostility between the two most prominent ethnic groups in Rwanda, the Hutus and the Tutsis, that manifested into political and social tension. The history of this state suggests the ethnic conflict began with colonialism. In the book, The Media and Rwanda Genocide, Gerald Caplan relays the history of Rwanda’s social disparities in his chapter, “Rwanda: Walk the Road to Genocide.” During the colonial era, under German and Belgian power, Roman-Catholic missionaries devised the two indistinguishable ethnic groups (Caplan 20). Despite the lack of defined dissimilarities,
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Men were perceived as the dominant group and expected to take on leaderships roles such as being the head of the household in addition to holding the majority of political seats in Rwanda’s government. The societal expectation of Rwandan women fell into the category of subordination, however, this reality shifted during and after the …show more content…
The death of men received acceptance and justification because these killings were based on political reasoning. Men were involved in politics, therefore, they posed a larger threat to Hutu power, whereas women did not. Adam Jones writes in his article, “Gender and genocide in Rwanda,” that the murder of women, children, and the elderly were deemed as apolitical as neither grouped posed as threats to the Hutu overtaking (Jones 70). During the genocide, being a man became dangerous whereas being a women was lifesaving. Jones notes, “One of the best indicators of the special vulnerability of men and boys is the frequency with which relatives and friends sought to disguise them in women’s clothing,” (Jones 73). Women would lend their clothes to men, who would disguise themselves in order to save their lives. Despite their efforts, men were being killed at an alarming rate and the gender demographic grew more disportionate
Men were perceived as the dominant group and expected to take on leaderships roles such as being the head of the household in addition to holding the majority of political seats in Rwanda’s government. The societal expectation of Rwandan women fell into the category of subordination, however, this reality shifted during and after the …show more content…
The death of men received acceptance and justification because these killings were based on political reasoning. Men were involved in politics, therefore, they posed a larger threat to Hutu power, whereas women did not. Adam Jones writes in his article, “Gender and genocide in Rwanda,” that the murder of women, children, and the elderly were deemed as apolitical as neither grouped posed as threats to the Hutu overtaking (Jones 70). During the genocide, being a man became dangerous whereas being a women was lifesaving. Jones notes, “One of the best indicators of the special vulnerability of men and boys is the frequency with which relatives and friends sought to disguise them in women’s clothing,” (Jones 73). Women would lend their clothes to men, who would disguise themselves in order to save their lives. Despite their efforts, men were being killed at an alarming rate and the gender demographic grew more disportionate