2007年VOA标准英语-Women Have Strong Voice in Rwandan Parliament

By Cathy Majtenyi
Kigali, Rwanda
16 July 2007
 

Rwanda's Parliament in session

Women hold nearly half the seats in Rwanda's parliament, the highest percentage of women lawmakers in the world. One result is legislation that increases the rights of women and children in a society that traditionally discouraged women from speaking out. Cathy Majtenyi visited Rwanda's parliament and files this report for VOA.

In Rwanda, a lush green country in Africa's Great Lakes region, women hold 48.8 percent of seats in Parliament and 34.6 percent of the seats in the Senate.

Rwanda's constitution calls for at least 30 percent of women to be represented in Parliament, the Senate, and other levels of government.

Speciosa Mukandutiye is the newly-elected president of the Forum¹ of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians.

Speciosa Mukandutiye

She explains that constitutional quotas³ have been exceeded in Parliament because Rwandan society and culture are changing; especially in the way women are viewed. "Gender⁴ equality is not deep rooted in our culture. Traditionally, women were supposed to be housewives. Their role was to take care of their husbands and produce children. It was a shame to appear in public and make your comments," she says. "Our current policy is that that has to change: women have to contribute to national income. That is among the priorities of our forum: to make women come out and show their talents and leave behind this behavior of depending on others and to build their spirit of self-reliance."

Mukandutiye and others say one factor in the recent empowerment of Rwandan women is the 1994 genocide, in which Hutu extremists killed up to 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Many women were left widowed and became the primary breadwinners for their families.

Rwanda's parliament building still bears the scars from that terrible time but the government and society are determined⁵ to move forward, including in the area of women. They make up 52 percent of Rwanda's population.

Member of Parliament Agnes Nyirabagenzi says having such a large percentage of women lawmakers enables Rwanda to put together laws that help women.

Agnes Nyirabagenzi

She refers to a draft bill dealing⁶ with sexual violence against women as an example. "The idea was born by the Forum of Rwandan Women Parliamentarians. They observed that there was no law to punish people who commit sexual violence against women. We formulated⁷ that draft law, we brought it before the parliament, we sought support from our male colleagues, and we are sure that that law is going to be passed."

Other progressive legislation includes a law that enables women and girls to inherit property.

But women still have a ways to go, says Jane Mutoni, acting⁸ coordinator⁹ of the Forum for African Women Educationalists' Rwanda chapter.

She says that while the 30 percent quota² has been achieved in higher levels of government, there is still a lack of women in local government, especially in rural areas. "We don't have a bigger percentage of women educated to take up those posts, because to go for the district level administration, you need a certain level of education. So even the few (women) we have can't go there. They lack self-confidence, assertiveness¹⁰, and leadership qualities."

But for the time being, Rwandan women continue to make inroads in the country's highest seats of power.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

3 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

4 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

10 assertiveness   

n.过分自信

参考例句：

• Her assertiveness was starting to be seen as arrogance. 她的自信已开始被认为是自负了。
• Role playing is an important element in assertiveness training. 在果敢自信训练班上，角色扮演是个重要内容。