"1 never poured blood": Women accused ofgenocide in Rwanda A thesis submitted to the Faeulty ofGraduate Studies and Researeh in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements ofthe degree ofMaster ofLaws (LL.M.) by Nicole Hogg Faeulty ofLaw, MeGili University, Montreal November 2001 © Nicole Hogg 2001 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 canada canada Your fils Votre rélél'fHlCB Our fils NoIre rélérencB The author bas granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library ofCanada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distnbute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies ofthis thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership ofthe L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permISSIon. autorisation. 0-612-79133-5 Canada Abstract In this thesis the author explores the role of women as participants in the Rwandan genocide. The thesis is informed by the insights of Western feminist criminologists, as weIl as a consideration of women's status in pre-genoclde Rwanda. The author then draws from empirical research conducted beth with female genocide suspects in the Rwandan prisons and with persons working in the Rwandan criminal justice system to reveal that popular understandings of 'participation' in the genocide do not always equate with formallegal meanings. She aIso considers questions ofpower and women's motivations for participating in the genocide. She argues that despite the adoption of a formaI 'equal treatment' approach to genocide suspects, gender comes into play at almost every step of the Rwandan and international criminal justice processes, with the effect that sorne women appear to he receiving impunity for their actions, while others are being unfairly disadvantaged. Résumé Dans cette thèse. l'auteur explore le rôle des femmes en tant que participantes dans le génocide rwandais. La thèse est éclairée par les théories de criminologues féministes occidentales ainsi que par la considération du statut de la femme dans le Rwanda pré­ génocide. L'auteur se base ensuite sur une recherche empirique effectuée auprès des femmes accusées de génocide dans les prisons du Rwanda et auprès de personnes travaillant dans le système de justice criminelle rwandais pour révéler que les définitions populaires du terme 'participation' ne correspondent pas toujours avec la signification légale fonnelle. Elle considère aussi la question du pouvoir et des motivations des femmes ayant participé au génocide. Elle soutient qu'en dépit de l'adoption de l'approche d'égalité formelle dans le traitement des accusés du génocide, le genre entre en ligne de compte dans presque chaque étape du processus de justice criminelle rwandais et international, avec la conséquence que certaines femme apparaissent recevoir l'impunité pour leurs actions. alors que d'autres sont désavantagées par le système dejustice criminelle. Acknowledgments This thesis could not have heen written without the support and assistance of many people. First, my sincere thanks goes to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; the Greenshields Foundation and the Office ofthe Dean, McGill University Faculty of Law, for their generous financial backing. 1 also gratefully acknowledge the enthusiastic input and encouragement from my thesis supervisor, Dr. Stephen Toope. 1 thank Dean Peter Leuprecht and El Obaid Ahmed El Obaid for their friendship and guidance, and my parents for their unwavering support, regardless of where my decisions take me. In Rwanda, many people provided their time generously. In particular, 1 would like to thank the team at LIPRODHOR for their comments, documentation and patience, as 1 kept returning to talk about 'women, women, women'; Alice Ndegeya of Seruka and Rose Muk:antabana of Haguroka for their insights and assistance; Avocats Sans Frontières for providing access to their judgments from the Rwandan courts; the Rwandan Ministry of the Interior for granting authorisation to enter the prisons; Yahaya Muvunyi for his reliable assistance, and my interpreter, Natasha Muyenzi, for her dedication and good humour. Above aIl, my thanks gocs to those who are the least likely to ever read this thesis: my interview participants in the Rwandan prisons. Their stories were indispensable to this work and were often provided with a great deal of pain. These women have shown me that while there remains much work to he done in Rwanda, there is also cause for hope. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 PART 1 - BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY A. Insights From Feminist Criminology 5 1. 'Where are the Women and Women's Experiences?' 5 2. Pollak and the Chivahy TheoI)' 8 3. The 'Evil Woman' TheoI)' 12 4. Criminal Women as Victims 14 5. The Equal Treatment Approach 16 6. Questions ofEssentialism 17 B. Women in Pre-Genocide Rwanda 20 1. Rwandan Folklore 20 2. Women's Role Within The Family 23 3. The Education OfGirls 27 4. Women's Economie Situation 29 5. Participation in Political Life 30 C. A History of the Genocide 3S 1. Pre-Colonial Period 37 2. The Colonial Period 38 3. Independence 40 4. The Habyarimana Regime and Preparing for Genocide 42 D. The Legal Response To The Genocide 46 1. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 46 2. The Belgian Genocide Trial 48 3. The Rwandan Genocide Law 49 4. The Gacaca Law 54 PART fi - RESEARCH RESULTS Introduction 58 A. How Did Women Participate in the Genocide? 62 1. Accusations Against Fema1e Genocide Suspects 62 a) Pauline Nyiramasuhuko: On Trial Before the ICTR 62 b) The 'Ordinwy' Female Genocide Suspect: Accused ofMurder 67 2. Popular Perceptions ofWomen's Participation in the Genocide 71 B. Why Did Women Participate in the Genocide? 78 1. The Question ofConfessions 78 a) Women are Not Confessing at the Same Rate as Men 79 b) Incomplete Confessions 84 2. Possible Motivations 86 a) Fear 87 b) The Effect ofAnti-Tutsi Hate Propaganda 95 c) Poverty, Greed and Opportunism 101 3. Conclusions 103 c. Issues ofWomen9 s Power 104 1. The Power ofOrdinary Women for Positive Action 104 2. The Power ofWomen In Leadership Positions 110 a) Women in Political Power 110 b) Women in the MilitaJy 118 c) Women in the Catholic Church 121 d) Conclusions 127 D. The Chivalry Theory and the 'Equal Treatment' Model Revisited 130 1. Are Women Getting Away With Murder? 130 2. The Equal Treatment Model - Issues and Concems 136 a) Family Responsibilities and the Slow Pace ofJustice 136 b) The Lack ofLegal Representation 139 Conclusions 142 Bibliography 145 AnneIure 1 - Methodology A. Research in Arusha at The International Crirninal Tribunal for Rwanda B. Research in Rwanda iii 1. Outline ofgoals and research methods 1ll 2. Empirical Research iv a) Interviews with persons working in the Rwandan criminal justice system iv b) Interviews with female detainees v i) Preparing for the interviews and obtaining authorization 10 enter the prisons v ii) Procedure upon entering the prisons and my interview priorities VIl iii) Interview conditions lX iv) The interview process and ethical issues raised during the interviews x Breakdown ofInterview Participants - Prison interviews xv '1 Never Poured BloOO': Women Accused ofGenocide in Rwanda Introdudion r never pouredblood. but the Defence toTd us that when we go to Court it does not male any difference ifwe are men or women andthat we shou/d not go there andtell them we arewomen. Female genocide suspect, Gitarama prison, Rwanda, 19.7.01 Women's participation in the 1994 Rwandan genocide bas recently been brought to the world's attention with the conviction oftwo Rwandan nuns by a Belgian Court for genocide and crimes against humanity.l In Arusha, Tanzania, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (lCTR), the trial bas also begun ofPauline Nyiramasuhuko, former Rwandan Minister for Family Affairs and Women's Development.2 In the Rwandan courts, over 50 women have been convicted for genocide-related crimes,3 while aImost eight years after the genocide, thousands more women still await trial in the Rwandan prisons, together with over 100,000 men.4 ft is therefore surprising that no academic studies have been undertaken to date on women's involvement in the genocide, except as victims ofthe violence. Nor have any inquiries yet been made into the treatment offemale genocide suspects by the Rwandan or international criminal justice systems. Although many other issues remain to he addressed in post-genocide Rwanda, the failure ofpolitical analysts, criminologists and feminists alike to tackle these topics suggests either that the questions they raise are too AU translations from French in this document are the author's own. 1 Cour D'Assises de L'Arrondissement Administratifde Bruxelles-Capitale, Judgment 8.6.01, against: NTEZlMANA Vincent, HlGANlRO Alphonse. MUKANGANGO Consolata and MUABUTERA Julienne. Avocats Sans Frontieres, online, www.asf.be/AssisesRwanda2/ft/ftVERDICTverdict.htm • date accessed: 9.10.01. [Hereinafter, BelgÜln Genocide Trial Judgmenfj. 2 International Crîmina1 Tribunal for Rwanda, Case No. ICTR-9?-21-I. 3. See Part 11.D.1 below. 4 See Part rr. Introduction, below. challenging, or tbat women are simply not important enougb to warrant serious investigation.s Th__1S· wOtk'__ 1S a fi_U"St step towardfilrS __ Lmg th-.ese gaps. l'bt 1S ased'pnmany1 on my ..mtervlews witb 71 female genocide suSPeCts in the Rwandan prisons, and on discussions witb representatives ofgovernment and non-governmental organizations in Rwanda, carried out hetween June and August 2001.