ABSTRACT
The absence of prominent female politicians and the rather scarce accounts on gender relations in the Kayibanda years imply that women were drawn into the general discourses without being accorded any policy priority. The government's approach on gender issues relied on two factors. During the Second Republic Rwanda was a one-party state and the Rwandan state was heavily dependent on the international community. Surprisingly the Rwandan state has been a state party to the United Nations (UNs) gender norms almost from the outset. The Habyarimana-regime signed the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and committed itself to adhering to UN norms on gender relations early on. Yet, the same stalling tactics that the regime employed in other political reforms were duplicated in the gender arena. It visibly reflected a lack of commitment to gender equality goals. Women's political action centred on their security and gendered violence became an ongoing theme in the transitional period and beyond.
