Window dressing inequalities and constructing women farmers as problematic—gender in Rwanda’s agriculture policy

Abstract

Rwanda is often depicted as a success story by policy makers when it comes to issues of gender. In this paper, we show how the problem of gendered inequality in agriculture nevertheless is both marginalized and instrumentalized in Rwanda’s agriculture policy. Our in-depth analysis of 12 national policies is informed by Bacchi’s What’s the problem represented to be? approach. It attests that gendered inequality is largely left unproblematized as well as reduced to a problem of women’s low agricultural productivity. The policy focuses on framing the symptoms and effects of gendered inequality and turns gender mainstreaming into an instrument for national economic growth. We argue that by insufficiently addressing the socio-political underlying causes of gendered inequality, Rwanda’s agriculture policy risks reproducing and exacerbating inequalities by reinforcing dominant gender relations and constructing women farmers as problematic and men as normative farmers. We call for the policy to approach gendered inequality in alternative ways. Drawing on perspectives in feminist political ecology, we discuss how such alternatives could allow policy to more profoundly challenge underlying structural constraints such as unequal gender relations of power, gender norms, and gender divisions of work. This would shift policy’s problematizing lens from economic growth to social justice, and from women’s shortcomings and disadvantages in agriculture to the practices and relations that perpetuate inequality. In the long term, this could lead to transformed gender norms and power relations, and a more just and equal future beyond what the dominant agricultural development discourse currently permits.

Assessing the Impact and Scalability of Participatory Homegrown Programs on Reducing and Redistributing Unpaid Care Work among Women in Rwanda: A Case of Reseaux des Femmes' Unpaid Care Work Project in Rwanda: Baseline Report

“…There is limited policy support for women's economic empowerment, no specific policy promoting it, inadequate financing of programmes, poor coordination across sectors and a lack of clarity among policymakers and funders on who has overall responsibility (IDRC, 2020). The agricultural policy, for example, is focused on increasing women's productivity, making women the problem rather than addressing the socio-political underlying causes of gendered inequality (Andersson et al, 2022). There is little prenursery, nursery or other school provision to support working mothers, especially in rural areas.…”

“…However, the main barriers (mechanisms behind the problem) to gender equality and women's empowerment are patriarchal institutional structures and a culture of patriarchy. Unless these are tackled, women's economic empowerment initiatives are unlikely to have their intended impact (Andersson et al, 2022;Doyle et al, 2014;McLean et al, 2020).…”