1 RWANDA WOMEN’S NETWORK1 ASSERTING WOMEN’S LAND RIGHTS Name: Rwanda Women’s Network Location: Eastern Rwanda Year of foundation: 1997 Contact: Annette Mukiga E-Mail:
[email protected] 1 Prepared by Justine Mirembe, in collaboration with Peninah Abatoni, Mary Balikungeri, Elisabetta Cangelosi, Annette Mukiga, Sabine Pallas, Viviana Sacco and the group of women and paralegals of the Polyclinic of Hope in Bugesera. 2 The Context Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) is a national non-governmental organization working in Rwanda since 1997 when it took over from its parent organization-Church World Service. RWN was established with the mission of promoting and improving the socio-economic welfare of women in Rwanda. Its main administrative offices are located in Gasabo district “village of Hope” - Kigali City but RWN has also established 4 spaces/centers (Polyclinics of Hope) for women in the districts of Gatsibo, Nyarugenge and Bugesera. RWN began with a program of promoting women’s rights to land, housing and inheritance specifically targeting victims of rape and other violent crimes largely perpetuated during the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, as well as vulnerable homeless women returnees after the war. The current population of Rwanda stands at more than 11 million people, over 80% of whom depend on agriculture. With a surface area of 26.338 square kilometer for 11 million people, Rwanda’s population density stands at more than 416 inhabitants per square kilometer (Rwanda Demographic profile, 2013), making it a densely populated country. Gender wise, women constitute more than 53% of the adult population and 50% of these are widows.