Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores and analyzes the central role played by women who exercised agency as rescuers and as perpetrators during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. It reviews the theoretical framework of Gender and the Genocide in Rwanda, assessing relevant bodies of literature. It defines and contextualizes key terms specific to the genocide and details the research methodology utilized. The book provides how the population, most notably the women, was mobilized and self-mobilized. It also provides the reactions of women rescuers and perpetrators to these efforts, and how these processes persisted throughout the genocide. It discusses "Post-Genocide Trajectories", traces their diverging and converging courses over the next 20 years. The book describes the importance and impact of this gendered silence on reconciliation initiatives in Rwanda and on women rescuers and perpetrators.