Gender Stratification and Women in Developing Nations Essay

Gender Stratification and Women in Developing Nations - Essay Example The most intense riots broke out in the aftermath of president Habyalimana’s assassination, a mad Hutus tried to wipe off a complete Tutsi tribe. Not only women and young females were killed, raped and mutilated, the moderate males also faced mass killings establishing these killings as genocidal and gendercidal. Rwanda’s demographic disparity today is due to the killing of approximately 70% Tutsi males by the hands of radical Hutus, about which the socialist say that, it will continue to exist. An intense impact is a tilt in power towards females in all walks of life. This paper researches this very fact and will also investigate the effects of demographic disparity in the wake of the genocide Rwanda. Additionally, it will throw light on the role of women in Rwanda at present in its economical, social and political development, especially after the 1994 genocide in this African country. To realize the positive effect on empowered women in the present Rwandan setup; fac tors that played an important role in the 1994 massacre have to be understood. The Rwandan population composes of 85 % Hutu, 14 % Tutsi and 1% Twa tribe. The Twa are native of Rwanda and are different from the influential Hutu and Tutsi. three tribes are racially the same; Twa finding economics from forestry; although, deforestation and indifferent behavior from other tribes have isolated them. They were placed in the lowest cast in the Rwandan culture after the involvement of Hutu/Tutsi tribe and the German/Belgium colonization. By tradition, the main fields of Hutu and Tutsi were agriculture and cattle herding respectively. Both tribes have different features and share the same race. People of the Hutu tribe are bulky, short and with round faces whereas, people from Tutsi tribe are taller, with a lighter skin-tone and elliptical faces. The physical features of Tutsis match the old Ethiopians (History, 2010). Men have, historically, been powerful positions than women in Rwanda. Even though, the work has been shared by both in the agriculture sector; sharing the field clearing and daily work load between men and women respectively. The care of livestock was done by men, along with younger men in the society. Although women seek business in the market, males oversee the outside-home activities, leaving the women to handle house chores and the children upbringing. Marriage is the basic building block of society and the raising of children in Rwanda is considered to be a sign of affluence and influence. Therefo re, these women are under increasing pressure to marry and bear children. Women enjoy a fair share of socio-political power, which is an astonishing fact, keeping in mind the status of men and women in the Rwandan society. Saying all this, men still have the major share of power and public offices. The role of women in politics was minimized by the colonies (History, 2010) The Twa tribe was suppressed by both the Hutu and the Tutsis. Both these tribes did not permit intermarriages with the Twa people; even when allowing them among themselves. Because of these intermarriages the divide, that there was, between the Hutu and the Tutsis was eliminated to a minimum extent. Post colonization, social status was of more essence than that of the race itself (History, 2010). Even still, the Belgium and Germans under the colonial time-period functioned on the principle of ruling