Rwandan revolution: World’s highest women’s participation in Parliament

Rwanda is the first country in the world with a female majority in Parliament, with 61.3% in the Chamber of Deputies and 36% in the Senate, as per 2018 reports.

- KARTIKEYA SHARMA

A parliamentary delegation from India participated in the 145th Assembly of the InterParliamentary Union (IPU) hosted by the Parliament of Rwanda in Kigali, the capital of this central African nation, in October. It was a proud moment for India when for the first time in 20 years, an Indian MP got elected as a member of the executive committee of IPU.

The IPU had met in Kigali to discuss important issues of gender parity and countering the global problem of human trafficking. As a member of the Indian Parliamentary delegation, I had the privilege of participating in debates and discussions on these issues of global importance.

Our team cited how under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, efforts for gender equality were being made in India, and how immensely committed India was to address the root causes of human trafficking, and how provisions had been made in the Indian Constitution to prevent such trafficking.

While in Rwanda, I also observed how committed this African nation was to ensure women's representation in its parliamentary process.

Rwanda's Parliament has the highest percentage of women in a single-house Parliament worldwide.

Worldwide, women's representation in political seats is around 24.5%, even though they account for half the world's population. Rwanda is an outlier in this regard, with more women in power, proportionally than any other country. In fact, Rwanda is the first country in the world with a female majority in Parliament, with 61.3% in the Chamber of Deputies and 36% in the Senate, as per 2018 reports.