Judith Kanakuze (19 September 1959 – 7 February 2010) was a Rwandan politician and women's rights activist best known for passing legislation against gender-based violence, including Rwanda's first legal definition of rape, and contributing constitutional

gender quota A gender quota is a tool used by countries and parties to increase women's representation in legislature. Women are largely underrepresented in parliaments and account for a 25.8% average in parliaments globally. As of November 2021, gender quotas ...

s that required women's representation in governmental bodies. She worked in multiple fields, including nutrition and civil service, before becoming a prominent leader of women after the 1994

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

, in which she lost most of her extended family. Kanakuze founded the early women's organization and represented women's interests at the Arusha Accords and on

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

's committee to establish a constitution. The gender quotas that required women to compose at least 30 percent of governmental bodies subsequently quickly spurred women's participation to exceed the quotas in parliament. She was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 2003 and reelected in 2008. During her terms, she presided over the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum.

Early life and career

Judith Kanakuze was born 19 September 1959, in

Rusizi District Rusizi is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Cyangugu, the major city of the Rwandan south-west and the district contains large parts of the former Cyangugu Province. Geography, flora and fauna The district lie ...

, Rwanda. She studied

demography Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and Population dynamics, dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups ...

in college and graduated with a bachelor's degree. Kanakuze worked as a schoolteacher for two years beginning in 1980 and later became a nutritionist. She served as National Supervisor of Rwanda Nutritional Centres for four years beginning in 1986, after which she coordinated a household energy saving project with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. In 1992, she officiated studies and research with the Ministry of Public Works. During this time, Kanakuze represented women and children in the Arusha Accords. She also led a feminist organization, Twese Hamne (Pro-Femmes). She lived through the 1994

, in which most of her extended

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...

family was murdered in a Kibuye church in west Rwanda, where they had gone for

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

. After the conflict, she returned to Rwanda from a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

Goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...

to reopen a women's

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

that specialized in

microfinance Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...

and also offered educational and

conflict resolution Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abou ...

programming. Kanakuze founded the early women's organization , for which she was a consultant in the late 1990s. Kanakuze, by this time known as a leader for women's rights in Rwanda, was selected to serve on the country's 2001 Constitutional Commission as a gender equality advocate and one of three women on the 12-person panel. She contributed numerous gender-related clauses towards the constitution, the most significant of which created gender quotas in which women must compose at least 30 percent of seats on Rwanda's decision-making bodies. Women's civil society organizations and individual women supplemented Kanakuze to convince the other commission members. Rwandan women began to enter male-controlled committees and were recognized on issues other than gender. By 2003, women held nearly half of the seats in

and Kanakuze was elected to one of them. The next year, she presided over the Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum, which designed laws to target

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

within the government. Kanakuze served as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Gender and Family Promotion. Her most significant legislative act was a 2008 law against gender-based violence, including

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

and

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

. It established the definition of rape in Rwandan law and marked the first legislation introduced by parliamentarians—instead of the executive branch—since the 2003 election. Kanakuze was reelected in 2008 under the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winn ...

political party. She fell ill during a meeting in December 2009 and did not recover. Kanakuze died on 7 February 2010, at the age of 51. Parliament closed for a day to mourn and honor her memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanakuze, Judith 1959 births 2010 deaths People from Rusizi District Members of the Parliament of Rwanda Rwandan feminists 21st-century Rwandan women politicians 21st-century Rwandan politicians