impact of the 94 genocide on women nad thier lives

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Oxfam GB

Human Security and Reconstruction Efforts in Rwanda: Impact on the Lives of WomenAuthor(s): Myriam GervaisReviewed work(s):Source: Development in Practice, Vol. 13, No. 5 (Nov., 2003), pp. 542-551Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Oxfam GBStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4029942 .

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James Copestake3 For more information see the Imp-Actwebsite at www.Imp-Act.org.

ReferencesCopestake, James (2000) 'Impact assess-ment of microfinance and organizationallearning-who will survive?', Journal ofMicrofinance 2(2):119-234.Edgecomb, Elaine and Carter Garber(1998) 'Practitioner-led mpact Assessment:A Test in Honduras', AIMS paper, Wash-ington, DC: The Small Enterprise Educa-tion and Promotion Network, available atwww.usaidmicro.org/componen/aims/pubs/english/tools2.htm (accessed 1 July 2003).Fowler, Alan (1997) Striking a Balance: AGuide to Enhancing the Effectiveness ofNGOs in InternationalDevelopment, Lon-don: Earthscan.Montoya, Anibal (2002) 'Experiencia enla Implementacion de Herramientas deMedicion de Impacto a Nivel de RedesNacionales', unpublished paper,Tegucigalpa.Mosley, Paul (2000) 'How Can ImpactAssessments Facilitate StrongerCollabora-tion Between DFOs?', Imp-Act BriefingPaper 4, Brighton: Imp-Act, available atwww.Imp-Act.org accessed 1 July 2003).Rhyne, Elizabeth (2001) MainstreamingMicrofinance: How Lending to the PoorBegan, Grew,and Came of Age in Bolivia,Bloomfield, CT: KumarianPress.

The authorJames Copestake is a senior lecturer atthe University of Bath, and is currentlydirector of studies of the Masters inInternationalDevelopment. In addition tobeing a member of Imp-Act, he is part ofthe ESRC Research Group on Well-beingin Developing Countries (WeD). Contactdetails: Department of Economics andInternational Development, University ofBath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.


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Human securityand reconstruction fforts in Rwandaneedsin post-conflictconditions.Infact, gen-der-basedviolence still remainshigh duringreconstructionperiods,provingthatpeace isnot enough to ensure women's security.Inmanycases, women are also confrontedwithradically changed realities: they have toassumenew roles andnew responsibilitiesatthe family and communitylevels, and in sodoing theyare moresusceptible o new formsof insecurity.As aresult, t seems pertinent oquestion how development agencies haveapproached ndsought omitigate hesesecu-rity concerns.How do reconstruction ffortscarriedout or supportedby fundingagenciesaddressissues of safety and security in thelives of women andgirls?Do theiractionsorprojectsmakea concretedifferenceto wom-en's security?Whatcan we learnin termsofstrategiesandapproaches?In recentyears, UN institutionsand bilat-eral donors have in many ways supportedpeace activists, human rights advocacygroups, and grassrootscommunity activistsin their efforts to improve their ability tobuildpeace in post-conflictsocieties (UNDP2002). At the same time, NGOs are increas-ingly takingvoluntary nitiatives,promotingand implementing programmes that helpbuild and consolidatepeace in these societies(InternationalAlert 1998; Leonhardtet al.2002). Efforts have also been made to'engender' government programmes withtechnicalassistancefromdevelopmentagen-cies (Zucherman2002).

Focusingon Rwanda,this paperexaminesa sample of initiatives and tries to evaluatehow pertinent he interventions ponsoredbyaid agencies that seek to meet the securityneeds of women have been. It also tries toidentify lessons for future actions assistingpost-conflict populations. In doing this, Ihaveused three indicators o assess effortstoestablish a more secure environment forwomen. If appropriatelydefined in accord-ance with the Rwandan context, personalsecurity,economic security,and socio-polit-ical securityare indicators hatmay be usedto reveal the effects or impacts of theseactions on women's security.

The researchused in thispaperfocused oninitiatives included in socio- economicdevelopment projects funded by the Cana-dian International Development Agency(CIDA) and implemented by CanadianNGOs (Oxfam-Quebec,CARE-Canada,andDevelopmentand Peace). These projectsarefoundin differentregions of Rwanda(in theprovinces of rural Kigali, Umutara,Gitar-ama, and Butare), and their beneficiarypopulations are mainly women, includingsurvivors of the genocide, and returnedrefugees of 1994 as well as refugees fromcampsin theDRC andTanzania. n addition,this study also assesses the effects of ini-tiatives carriedoutby women's organisationsorcollectives. The informationanddatausedhere were gatheredduring several visits toRwanda n 2001 and2002, includingprojectvisits, and were collected from CanadianNGOs acting as implementingagencies, aswell as througha review of official docu-ments and documentationproducedby localNGOs, and meetings with governmentoffi-cials and local elected representatives,aswell as heads and membersof associations.

The case of RwandaIn the aftermathof the 1994 Rwandanwarandgenocide, aid programmeswere concen-tratedon reconciliationactivities, rehabilita-tion of the legal system, and economic andsocial recovery.Over and above the fundingfrom international inancial institutionsandbilateral organisations, external aid wasoffered mainly by UN agencies (WFP,UNHCR, and UNICEF) and by foreignNGOs that seek to involve beneficiary pop-ulationsdirectly.These interventionssoughtto counter the consequences of war andgenocide by providing help to displacedpeople, food aid, reconstructionof infra-structure, services for genocide orphans,institutional support to local NGOs, andreconciliationprojects.

Although about96 per cent of the state'sinvestmentbudgetwas financedby externalaid,a significantcharacteristic f this aid has

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Myriam Gervaisbeen the importanceof NGO assistanceafterthe genocide. This contributionrepresented7-10 per cent of all the aid received byRwanda between 1995 and 2000 (Gervais2002c:6-7). Indeed,many NGOs have pro-vided indirectsupport o the state budgetbyfunding the construction of local socialinfrastructureschools, health centres,watersupply systems, etc.). In post-reconstructionRwanda, NGOs mobilised an importantmeans to initiate changes in local commu-nities in terms of resourcemanagementforreconciliationand governance.

Before looking at the selected interven-tions, it may be appropriateo offera generaloverview of the context in which these wereset in orderto shed light on how the lives ofwomen have been affected by war andgenocide.Post-genocide situationWith the slaughter of more than a halfmillion individualsand unprecedentedpop-ulation movements, the genocide of 1994had the effect of irremediably ransformingRwandan ociety,and the countrywas forcedto confront the consequences of organisedviolence and the loss of a significantpartofits human and economic capital.

Rwanda'sagriculture-basedconomy wascompletely destroyed by the war, forcingmost of its populationto live in a state ofextremeprecariousness.The food shortagescaused by the destructionof crops and thesevere reduction in cultivated land wasaggravatedby the inability of many house-holds to obtain the labour they needed. In1996, 34 per cent of families-with anaverageof six to seven young dependants-were headedby widows, unmarriedwomen,andwives of prisonerssuspectedof genocide(Ministryof Genderand Women n Develop-ment 2000:2). This reflects the fundamentalchanges that took place in the demographicstructureof Rwanda,where, even today, 64per cent of the labourforce in basic produc-tion is female. Burdened with increasedresponsibilities (heads of households or

farms,economicactors),womenhad to adaptto thesenew roles in a particularly estrictivecontext. For instance,a study carriedout onviolence againstwomen in Rwandarevealedthat 80 per cent of victims surveyedshowedsigns of traumaand 66 per cent of themwereHIV-positive AVEGA1999:24-26). Indeed,it is estimated that 250,000 women wereraped during the war and the genocide,between 1990 and 1994 (Muganza2002). Inaddition o obstaclesarisingfromthe conflictand genocide, Rwandan women and girlshave to deal with deeplypatriarchalormsofsocial organisation.Initiativesfor women duringthereconstruction periodA look at the projectsundertakenn Rwandaduringthe reconstructionperiodreveals thatthere were two types of initiatives aimed atsupportingwomen's efforts to react to theupheavalscaused by conflict and genocide:the formationof solidarity groups and pro-ductionassociations,andthe establishmentofadvocacy groupsand women'scollectives.

Since 1995, women have joined togetherin associations averaging 15-20 members,either spontaneously or at the behest ofcharitableorganisationsand NGOs, to culti-vate collective fields or to carryout income-generating activities. The main motivationfor these associations is to ensure the eco-nomic survival of their members. Withfinancial support from internationalNGOsand bilateralor multilateraldonors, variousassociations have also sprung up with themission of defending the strategic interestsof women:representationso government ohave discriminatory laws reviewed andactivism in favour of more equitablerepre-sentation of women in political life. Theseassociations have also taken on the task ofproviding legal and medical assistance ser-vices, forminggroupsto assist survivors,andprovidingbusiness advice.

As mentioned previously, gender-basedviolence, the depth of extremepoverty,andnon-egalitarian customary practices and

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Humansecurityand reconstruction fforts in Rwandadiscriminatory aws were among the mainchallenges faced in the aftermath of theconflict and genocide by the majority ofRwandanwomen. In an attempt o revealtheeffects or impacts of aid agency inter-ventions on women's security, indicatorssuch as personalsecurity,economic security,andsocio-politicalsecuritywere createdandused as methodologicalreferencemarks.

Personal security In orderfor the physicalor personalsecurity of Rwandanwomen tobe guaranteedor formalised, they must beprotected both legally and socially fromthreatsand acts of aggression.

Since 1994, organised violence againstwomen has been curbed and legal measureshave been instituted o punishacts of sexualviolence, thus ending the de facto impunitythat prevailed in Rwanda.Very few perpe-tratorsof acts of sexual violence committedduringthe war and genocide of 1994 havebeen brought o justice, however,despitethelarge number of cases identified (Joseph2000:47). Mostrecent statisticsshow, never-theless, that the courtsarecurrentlyprocess-ing at least 600 rape complaints and thatguilty verdicts are increasingly frequent(Muganza 2002). The government has setup-albeit belatedly-a programme fortraininghealth officials, police, and gagaca(traditional village-based) judges to helpwomen who werevictims of violence duringthe genocide.

An awareness campaign was undertakento raiseconsciousnessregarding he severityof sexual violence in Rwanda,a society stillheavily characterisedby various forms ofviolence against women. According to pro-vincial sources, six rapes took place inFebruary 002 in thedistrictof Gabiroalone.In a school in Kigali, a surveyrevealedthat60 percent of girls hadbeen raped.Thus,onInternationalWomen'sDay, the Public Serv-ice and LabourMinistermade it clear in aspeech she made to a crowd gathered inMurambi,a smallcity in the north-eastof thecountry,that violence against women is no

longer allowed in Rwanda and that severepunishmentwould be administeredagainstrapistsin the future(Kayetesi2002). Never-theless, data show thatviolence of a sexualnature in Rwanda is far from decreasing.Compared to other sub-Saharan Africancountries, girls have access to relativelyequal education.The school attendancerateis identicalfor boys and girls at the elemen-tarylevel and higherfor girls at the second-ary level. However,the surveyalso revealedthat sexual harassmentby staff is a problemthatgirls face in secondaryschools through-out the entire country (Ministryof Financeand Economic Planning2001:31).

There remains a feeling of insecurity inthe daily lives of women and girls. Follow-ing the genocide, many young adults agedbetween 13 and 20 years found themselvesas heads of family and had to take chargeofmuch younger children. According to thefirst availablenationalstatistics, these com-prised 13 per cent of Rwandan families in1996.Overtime, their numberhas decreasedsomewhat (Ministry of Finance and Eco-nomic Planning 2002:2) but the ravages ofHIV/AIDS seem to be perpetuating thesituation.In a study aimed at learningaboutthe conditions n which these youngheads ofhousehold live, interviews conductedwith asamplethat coveredthe entirecountry ed tothe conclusion thattheirrights are regularlydisregardedand their health and educationneeds ignored by the community (ACORD2001:26). Given the rarity or shortage ofland and Rwanda'sparticularly evere over-population, the property these youngstersinherited from their parents is coveted byothermembers of their families, or even bystrangers.Moreover,with communitiestomapartby war and genocide, traditionalsup-port mechanisms no longer operate. Inaddition, it is conventionally consideredunacceptable or womento inherit rom theirfamilies. Since girls who areheads of familyenjoy no protection, hey live in a climate ofpermanent nsecurity and are vulnerabletoattemptsat intimidationand sexual assault,particularlyat night. For a while, actions by

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Myriam Gervaischaritableorganisationsand local and inter-national NGOs allowed material assistanceto be provided to these orphans, but thesecurity and rights problemshave not beengiven any special attention.This feeling ofinsecurity s also sharedby otherwomen, asindicatedby the resultsof nationalconsulta-tions carried out as part of the poverty-reduction strategy development process(Ministryof FinanceandEconomicPlanning2001:37).Many survivorsof the genocide had theirhomes pillaged or destroyed during thestruggle.Itwas estimatedatthe timethattwomillion people were homeless, includingmore than half a million deemed to bevulnerable (Ministere du Plan 1996). In1996, the massive returnof repatriates romcamps in the DRC and Tanzaniaraised fearsof an increase in violent incidents betweenthese returningowners andnew home occu-pants. To lessen or eliminate this threat,donors funded home constructionprojects,considered to be an indispensableconditionforstability n the countryandthe securityofthe people.

Throughits partneragencies, CIDA wasthe main bilateral funder of this displacedpersons resettlementand reintegrationpro-gramme. With the collaboration of localpeople, CanadianNGOs, such as Develop-ment and Peace in the provinces of Butareand Gitarama and Oxfam-Quebec in theprovincesof ByumbaandRuralKigali,builthouses in various parts of the country andtendedto the most needy.Widowedheadsofhouseholds made up 35 per cent of bene-ficiariesof theprogrammeundedby Canada(Bureau d'Appui 'a la Cooperation Cana-dienne2000:14). Before this, house buildingwas the domain of men, who alone held titleto property.By giving priorityto the mostvulnerableand by making this a conditionfor funding, NGO projects promoted thetaking into account of women's needs inhousing programmes. n manycases, womensigned individual contracts recognised bycommunal authorities. The signing of acontractbetweena woman, the local author-

ity, and the NGO in fact brought about amajor change:women and girls were recog-nised as owners of their homes. Theseprogrammesalso contributed o the recogni-tion of the rightof women and girls to holdproperty,andgave legitimacyto theirrole asheads of families.

Economic security The economic securityof Rwandan women is guaranteed onlywhen they can satisfy theirown basic needsand those of their dependantsas economicproducersand actors.With over 90 per centof the populationdependenton agriculture,access to the means of production is anessential condition for economic survivaland a source of a minimum income.Although their participationon farms wasindispensable, in the past, the role ofwomen as producerswas misunderstoodorignored by the state, by society, and bydevelopment projects. Traditionally, menowned the land and women could notinherit or own it: marriage remained themain route for women to gain access toland. Following the genocide, one of thechallenges for female heads of householdwas to secure a cultivable plot of land inorder to ensure their family's subsistence.One frequentlyobserved way of doing thiswas to join an associative group.

After 1995, many associative or solidaritygroups were created or promotedby inter-national or local NGOs. Supportedby anNGO, these associationswere able to obtainauthorisation rom local authorities o culti-vate communalland, land left fallow by itsowner, or lowland land and marshes in thepublic domain.Marshland ehabilitationandthe development of radical terraces-withfunding from NGO projects-allowed landto be exploited that had until then beenunusable.For example, Oxfam-Quebecsup-ports 44 women's associations and 250mixed associationswith almost 4000 womenmembers in the province of Rural Kigali(Gervais2002a:14). As partof its activities,Oxfam-Quebec, in cooperation with the

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Humansecurityand reconstruction fforts in Rwandaassociations it supports,has developed pro-ductiveterraceson hillsides andtransformedlowlands into cultivable land. In the projectzone, these lands are cultivatedby associa-tions that sharein the harvest.Developmentof these lands by solidaritygroupsbenefits theirmembers,who see theprecariousnessof their situation essened bybeing able to securetheirbasic needs andbyproviding, n manycases, a surplus o be soldin the marketplace.But, so far, these groupsonly have the usufruct of these lands thattheir work helped make cultivable. Themarshesbelong to the Rwandangovernmentand the situation regardingthe lowlands isconfusing and controversial. The associa-tions and NGOshave invested in equipmentand labour to make these lands cultivablebut, for the time being, the associations'rights to these lands are in no way guaran-teed and it is very possible that someassociations mightbe dispossessedin favourof other groups or individuals (Gervais2003:31). Also, this property questionremains delicate and could mortgage thefutureof these associations by jeopardisingtheirsource of income, particularlyn placeswhere many people are landless. Moreover,for many women, the only way to haveaccess to land is to belong to an association,which makes them highly dependent onthose associations to ensure a minimumincome.In partnership with Development andPeace, the Irish NGO TrocairesupportstheMusambira Women's Advisory Council(COCOF),founded in 1995 in the provinceof Gitarama n the south of Rwanda. TheCOCOF currently has more than 2000women members n 91 socio-economicasso-ciations. This organisation,developed withtechnicalassistancefrom Tr6caire,has beengrantingcreditto its membersat an interestof 2.5 per cent per month, with a creditrecoveryrateof 97 percent (COCOF2001).The relatively productive nature of theCOCOFcreditsystemis an indication hat tsmembers are now able to carry out morelucrativeeconomic activities.

The statementsof associationmembers nvarious regions of the country (Gervais2003) regardingtheir greaterability to payeducation costs and to buy medicines, aswell as the disappearanceof cases of severemalnutrition n certainregions, suggest thatmost women have passed the survival andbare subsistencelevels and that their stand-ard of living is improvingsomewhat.How-ever,the financial securityof female agricul-tural producersremains fragile because ofthe vulnerabilityof theiractivity to climaticconditions, land productivity,and marketingdifficulties.

Socio-political ecurityThe socio-politicalsecurity of women in Rwandacan become areality only if the society to which theybelong respects women's rights and allowswomen to exercise them. To determinewhether therehas been a noticeable changein this direction, it is worth looking at thelegal framework, the place occupied bywomen in their communities,andtheirlevelof involvement in and control over house-hold decision making.

In Rwandan society, a set of discrim-inatory laws sanctioned non- egalitariancustomary practices in legal, matrimonial,andhereditarymatters.Also, after the geno-cide, women who were widowed and youngorphanedgirls could not inherit their hus-bands' or fathers' property.Women's asso-ciations such as the Forum for WomenMembersof Parliament n Rwanda,the Pro-Women Collective, and the Association forthe Defence of Women's and Children'sRights (HAGURUKA) successfully foughtto have a law passed on the matrimonialsystem and inheritancerights based on theprinciple of equality of the sexes. Formalrecognition of equal access to resourcesprovided the first legal frameworkfor theprotection of the rights of marriedwomenand orphanedgirls (Ministryof GenderandWomen in Development 2000:4). TheHAGURUKA Association notes that theinheritance aw is starting o be appliedand



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MyriamGervaiscomplaints n this areaaredecreasing.How-ever, about60 percent of householdsare, inthe eyes of the law, considered to becommon-law unions (Ministere des Terres,de la Reinstallationet de la Protection del'Environnement 2001:25-27). In otherwords, many marriagesare informal.

Most unions are not registered at thedistrict level due to people's inability toaffordrelatedexpenses suchas legal fees anddowry (Gervais 2003:15). Rwandan lawrecognises only monogamousmarriagescel-ebratedbefore a civil statusofficer.Womenliving in common-lawmarriagesand singlewomenwith childrenconstitutea significantpartof the population,buttheirrightsarenotprotectedby thenew law.Moreover, his lawleaves a legal vacuumregardinghow land isdistributed among heirs from the samefamily.Until the new land law promisedbythe government (Ministry of Finance andEconomic Planning 2001:60-61) actuallymaterialises, nothing prevents unfair prac-tices against women when sharing landrights.A firstlandbill was removedfromtheparliamentary agenda because of strongobjectionsfrom some quartersof society.

By promoting a participatory process,projects implemented by internationalandlocal NGOs have made it possible forwomen to get involved in decision makingwithin the associations being supported.Through training and awareness activities,some of these projects have encouragedwomen's access to decision-making posi-tions within theirassociations.Forexample,in the 250 mixed associations supportedbyOxfam-Quebec, 50 per cent of memberssitting on decision-making bodies arewomen(Gervais2002a:17).At generalmeet-ings of productive associations, it is nolonger rare to see female members expressand defend their points of view. Suchbehaviourseems to be becoming more andmoresocially acceptable.This greaterrole ofwomen in theircommunity s also evidentintheirgreater nvolvementin local affairs.

The decentralisation olicy adoptedby thegovernment involves transferringresponsi-

bilities previouslyallocatedto the provincesto the district evel. This meansthatdistrictsare now the main level of power, with theprovincial evel of governmentassumingtherole of supporterof the centralgovernmentand local jurisdictions Ministerede l'Admi-nistration Locale et des Affaires Sociales2000; Gervais 2002c). This reform tookeffect in March2001 with generalelectionsin all 106 districts, in which women raisedtheir representationabove 25 per cent ofelected seats at the district, sector, and celllevels. In this context, the election of sixfemalemayors s quitesignificant,as it is thefirst timeRwandanwomenhavebeen abletotake on the responsibilitiesof elected officethroughan open democraticprocess.Moreo-ver, the presenceof women in the cabinet-numberingfive ministers out of a total of26-was strengthenedin 2002. This hasbeen an overall improvementon the condi-tions that were prevalentuntil 2001, whenwomen's political representationwas vir-tually non-existent.

Nevertheless, competition for the alloca-tion of cultivableplots of landon living sitesgrouped within new settlement zones-thesolution proposed by the government toaccommodatenew arrivals-shows that thetransformation f the decision-makingproc-ess within communitiesis variable.It is notrare to see female heads of householdbeingallocated land that is infertile or located farawayfromwherethey live. And the involve-ment of women in household decision-makingprocesses appears o have generatedlittle concreteprogress.

According to a socio-economic studycarried out in three districts in the north-east of the country, home to a CAREdevelopmentproject for women and coun-cils aimedat capacitybuilding, skills devel-opment and materialinputs, the inequitablesharingof household income and resourcesto the detrimentof women is still common-place (Ndahimana et al. 2001:39). Tradi-tionally, it is men who manage assets, withwomen having free access only to cropsproduced near the home. In recent years,

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Human security and reconstruction efforts in Rwandathe involvement of women in associationsis more toleratedby men because, since theend of the period of emergency, aid hasbeen directed to strengtheningassociationsand is no longer paid directly to bene-ficiaries. Membersof women's associationsin the same region that are also helped byCARE say that their husbands are morefavourableto their belonging to an associa-tion, but that within the household thestatus quo remains (Gervais 2002a:30).Thus, it is still a common practicefor maleheads of families to control income fromwork on plots belonging to associations.Evaluating the impact of theseinitiativesPhysicalassaultson women have diminishedsignificantly since 1994, but the level ofsexual violence in Rwandansociety remainsalarming.The strengtheningof the criminalcode and awarenesscampaigns show, how-ever, thatviolence againstwomen is becom-ing less acceptable.

Throughtheir associations, women havegained access to means of productionthathave allowed them to improve their livingconditions-with a majorityof themhavingactuallymanagedto get beyondthe survivaland subsistence stages. But consideringthelink betweenpovertyandwomen's abilitytoexercise their rights, progress in achievingwomen's economic security must be sup-ported by donors and NGOs in ways thatadopta more long-termperspective.

Democracywithin associationsis helpingto eliminatevariousforms of discriminationby promoting the election of candidatesbased on new criteriasuch as competence.And, in this sense, productiveassociationsconstitutea platformthat allows women toexercise theirrightswithin theircommunity.However,the changes observedat this levelseem to have had little impact on relationsbetween men and women within familyunits.The initiatives carried out within thecontext of reconstruction programmes in

Rwanda have thus brought about changesthat have had a positive impact on thesecurity of women and girls. But, given theexceptional nature of the referencepoint-the genocide of 1994-it is too early for afinal verdict on the permanence of theseeffects. Meanwhile, access to resourcesremains a vital challenge in Rwanda and areal source of tension between men andwomen. In sum, the achievementsof recentyears in terms of strengtheninghumansecu-rity remain fragile and must beconsolidated.

ConclusionAn impact analysis of selected initiativesconducted by intervening agencies inRwanda during the reconstruction periodhighlights the complexity of safety andsecurityissues in the lives of women.Although practices varied widely amongorganisations and donors, these initiativeshavehelpedto createa safer environment orwomen. However, specific strategiesfocus-ing on women's and girls' security wouldbetter benefit them if they were moreconsistently planned so as to take intoconsiderationother crucial issues. In fact,some initiatives did not have the anticipatedresults because they were not designed onthe basis of an understanding f the ways inwhich issues of poverty,gender,andsecurityintersect.For instance, the level of violenceagainstwomen post facto and the very slowprocess of change to bring about greatergender equality within family units andcommunities should stimulate donors andNGOs to devotemore attention o the impactof their nitiativeson men andwomen, andtodevelop strategiesto reduce the sources oftension.Furthermore,while most projectsoractivitiesareoperatingat the microlevel, thecomplexityof safety andsecurity ssues callsfor focusing far moreon ways of strengthen-ing relationshipsboth between these inter-ventionsandother actionsattheregionalandnational levels, and with proposed sectoralpolicies.

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MyriamGervaisAcknowledgementsThe authorwould like to acknowledge theGenderand HumanSecurityIssues Action-researchprogramme, onductedby the Cen-tre for Developing-Area Studies at McGillUniversity and the Women's Centre ofMontrealand funded by the Social Sciencesand HumanitiesResearch Council of Can-ada, for its supportof this research.

ReferencesACORD (Agency for Co-operation andResearch in Development) (2001) TheSit-uation of Child Heads of Households inRwanda: A Significant Challenge, Kigali:ACORD.AVEGA (Association of Widows of theGenocide) (1999) Survey on Violenceagainst Women in Rwanda, Kigali:AVEGA.Bureau d'Appui a la Cooperation Cana-dienne (2000) 'Synthese des Realisations,ProjetsHabitats Finances par le CanadaauRwanda, 1997-1999', unpublished report,Kigali.COCOF (Conseil Consultatif des FemmesCommune de Musambira) (2001) 'Strat-egie D'amelioration des Conditions Socio-economiquesde la Femme en CommunedeMusambira. Plan d'Activites 2000-2001',unpublished report, Musambira, Rwanda:COCOF.Gervais, Myriam (2002a) 'Groupede Pro-jets de Developpement Communautaire nAppui aux Populations Relocalisees auRwanda. Rapportde la Deuxieme Missionde Suivi', unpublishedreport,Hull: CIDA.Gervais, Myriam (2002b) 'SecuriteHumaine: Une Approche Centree sur lesProblemes Structurels', CDAS DiscussionPaperNo. 94, Montreal:McGill University,Centre for Developing-AreaStudies.Gervais, Myriam (2002c) 'Lutte ContrelaPauvrete, Decentralisation et Projets deDeveloppement au Rwanda', paper pre-sented at the Conferenceon ReformesInsti-tutionnelles, Strategies de Lutte Contre la

Pauvrete et Espaces Politiques, UQAM/Centred'Etudessur le Droit International tla Mondialisation, Montreal, 10 May2002.Gervais, Myriam (2003) 'Groupede Projetsde DeveloppementCommunautairen Appuiaux Populations Relocalisees au Rwanda.Rapportde la Troisieme Mission de Suivi',unpublishedreport,Hull: CIDA.Human Rights Watch/Africa (1996) Shat-tered Lives. Sexual Violence during theRwandanGenocide and its Aftermath,Lon-don: Human Rights Watch.International Alert (1998) Training ofTrainers on Gender and Conflict Trans-formation. Capacity Building for Women'sPeace Movements in Burundi, ConferenceReport,London: InternationalAlert.Joseph, Kerline (2000) 'L'importance 'unejustice face aux crimes sexuels commis 'al'egard des femmes en periode de conflitsarmes: le cas du Rwanda', unpublishedmaster'sthesis, Montreal:UQAM.Kayetesi, Zayinaba Sylvie (2002) Speechof the Ministerof PublicService and Labourfor the InternationalWomen's Day, Mur-ambi, Rwanda,8 March 2002.Leonhardt, Manuela, Patricia Ardon,Njeri Karuru and Andrew Sherriff (2002)Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment(PCIA) and NGO Peacebuilding-Experi-ences from Kenya and Guatemala,London:InternationalAlert.Lindsey, Charlotte (2001) ICRC Study ofthe Impact of Armed Conflict on Women,Geneva:ICRC.Manchanda, Rita (ed.) (2001) Women,Warand Peace in SouthAsia:BeyondVictimhoodto Agency,New Delhi: Sage.Ministere de l'Administration Locale etdes Affaires Sociales (2000) PolitiqueNationale de Decentralisation, Kigali:ImprimerieNationaledu Rwanda.Ministere des Terres, de la Reinstallationet de la Protection de l'Environnement(2001) 'Besoins et Preoccupations desFemmes sur l'Acces 'a la Terre et 'a laPropriete Fonciere', unpublished report,Kigali.

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Improvingagri-food marketing n developingeconomiesMinistere du Plan (1996) 'Notes sur leProblemedu Logement dans le Cadre de laReintegrationSociale des PopulationsRapa-triees', unpublisheddocument,Kigali.Ministry of Finance and Economic Plan-ning (2001) The Governmentof RwandaPovertyReductionStrategyPaper, NationalPovertyReductionProgramme,Kigali.Ministry of Finance and Economic Plan-ning (2002) A Profileof Povertyin Rwanda:An Analysis Based on the Results of theHousehold Living Condition Survey1999-2001, Kigali.Ministry of Gender and Women in Devel-opment (2000) 'The NationalGenderActionPlan 2000-2005', unpublished document,Kigali.Muganza, Angeline (2002) 'A GovernmentActs againstGenderViolence', Declarationof the Minister of Gender and Women inDevelopment,Kigali, 6 June2002.Ndahimana, Isaie, Celestin Niseyimanaand Landrada Musabeyezu (2001) 'Donn-ees Socio-economiquesde Base dans la Zoned'Interventiondu ProjetSNC', unpublishedreport,Kigali.Turshen, Meredith and Clotilde Twagir-amaryia (eds.) (1998) What Womendo inWartime:Gender and Conflict in Africa,Londonand New York:Zed Books.UNDP (2002) HumanDevelopmentReport2002, New York:OUP.Zucherman, Elaine (2002) Evaluation ofGenderMainstreamingnAdvocacyWork nPovertyReductionStrategyPapers (PRSPs),Washington,DC: GenderAction.

The authorMyriamGervais is a ResearchAssociate atthe Centre for Developing-Area Studies atMcGill University, where she conductsresearch on human security, governance,and civil society in Africa. She has pub-lished widely on development issues inNiger and Rwanda, and consults for andlecturesto governmentagencies and NGOsinvolved in aid programmes. Contactdetails: Centre for Developing-Area

Studies, McGill University, 3715 PeelStreet, Montreal, Quebec H3A lXi, Can-ada. < [email protected] .

Improving gri-foodmarketingin developing economies:contractualvegetable marketsin GhanaNigel Poole, A. WayoSeini andVictorHeh

IntroductionSmallholder farmers in developing econo-mies face a range of marketingdifficulties.Producersoften experienceweak bargainingrelationshipsvis-a-vis tradersbecause theydo not have access to informationon prices,demandconditions,or alternativemarketingchannels.Most of all, farmers ack the abilityto enforceverballyagreedtermsof exchangewith traders.Farmersmay also renege onagreements, o thedetrimentof smalltraders.Such contractual inefficiencies reduce theperformance of the market system, withmultipleconsequences: hereareunexploitedmarket opportunities, n-field and post-har-vest losses, seasonal gluts of produce,poorquality control, inequitable returnsto pro-ducers, unsatisfied consumer demand, andreducedmultipliereffects in the rest of thelocal economy.This articleconcernsa studyof vegetable marketing n Ghana, and sug-gests how the development of contractualinstitutions can enhance marketcoordination.

Buyer-seller relationshipsIn agriculturalrading,personalrelationshipsare extremely important in facilitating,among other things, the provision of com-


impact of the 94 genocide on women nad thier lives

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