Factors influencing Women participation in security organs in Rwanda: A case of Rwanda Defense Force in Musanze District

Abstract

This study analyzed the factors influencing women participation in the security organs in Rwanda. Specifically, it identified the factors influencing women participation in RDF, the challenges facing women participation in the military and the applicable strategies to enhance the level of women participation in RDF. To achieve this, the study adopted a qualitative approach to gather information and used semi-structured interviews addressed to women soldiers and RDF Gender Desk. Collected data were analyzed by thematic content analysis and presented according to theme developed during the field research. Findings showed that the factors influencing women participation in RDF included the willingness to attach to a family tradition (72.2%), the aspiration to serve their country (83.3%), level of familiarity with the military (88.9%), the feeling that participating in military affairs is one way of empowerment and enhancing gender equality (86.1%) and the way of getting employment (75.0%). Moreover, identified challenges facing women participation in the military include social cultural resistance to join the military (75.0%), beliefs that women are physically weak and unable to perform some duties (69.4%), less attractiveness of military service as a career (77.8%) and Patriarchal roles associated with women's family roles (88.9%) which portrays the social perceptions that women are weak, patriarchal issues related to findings a marriage partner, separation from families at deployment, pregnancy, breastfeeding and limitations associated with having children as a barrier to women career progression in the military. Findings also showed that for RDF to increase the number of women participating in the military service, skill recognition and on more flexible career paths in order to increase the attractiveness of the military career (77.8%), retaining already serving women in RDF so as they act as role models to newly recruited women (63.9%), countering and repealing misconceptions about the military held by citizens (83.3%), increasing awareness among women (58.3%) by advertisements or other messaging that are oriented to military that emphasize on the reality of the military and devise a transformative gender policy that promotes affirmative action to facilitate the integration and effective involvement of women at senior decision in making levels (68.4%). The study concluded that that women’s decision to join the military is prompted by social, economic and cultural factors both within the military itself and outside the military in the environment in which women live and suggested that RDF needs to devise a transformative gender policy that promotes affirmative action to facilitate the integration and effective involvement of women in RDF. The policy should be driven and monitored at a high level and channeled in middle level of command and allocated adequate human and financial resources for their implementation.