Ladies First

The movie, Ladies First, is about womens role in society in Rwanda. Though there was
a time when women had very little rights in Rwanda, the genocide that swept the country
changed all that. In recent history women have begun to earn more rights and liberties, though
these personal freedoms should have always been there. Ladies First, depicts the womans role
in society in Rwanda, as well as shows how far women have come in the last couple of decades.
Ladies First starts off mentioning the little rights the women of Rwanda had in the early
1990s. Women living during this time were unable to own land, work outside the home, or even
have a bank account without the permission from their husband. This is very surprising given
the fact that in 1994, women accounted for over 70% of the population. Just a mere 10 years
later, the women of Rwanda went from having almost no freedom at all to holding about half of
the seats in Parliament. In fact, 30% of the seats in Parliament have to be determined for women
and once those seats are filled up, women are able to compete against men for even more seats in
Parliament.
For the first time in Rwanda history, women are taking charge. Women are beginning to
preach that being independent is a great thing, despite what they had been taught for decades.
One example of women taking control is through Rwandas new marriage policy. Married
couples are now able to choose between 3 different prenups in ordered to be protected by the
law. These agreements that couples are able to choose from guarantee women property and
possessions if her husband passes away. Before Rwanda decided to do these prenup agreements,
women would lose everything they had if their husband died. But now, instead of their property
and personal items going to the husbands family, the woman can stay on the land with her
belongings. This policy has ultimately changed Rwandas marriage system.

Another policy that has helped to shape Rwandas marriage system is the Free
Community Marriage Day. Many couples in Rwanda do not get married because they cant
afford the $9 fee. But, with this new policy couples can get married for free on certain marriage
free days. This is majorly important to women in Rwanda because getting married insures
equal rights as husband and wife. More and more couples are getting married because of the
Free Community Marriage Day, meaning that more women are gaining personal rights on a
daily basis.
Many of the recent changes that have taken place in Rwanda to help women were created
in response to the genocide that occurred. The 2 main ethnic groups in Rwanda are the Hutus
and the Tutsis. These 2 groups fought a civil war in the 1990s which lead to genocide. After the
genocide, a woman who wasnt legally married, but lived with a man and shared a business with
them, was not entitled to anything if he passed away. Because of this, hundreds of women were
thrown out on the streets with nowhere to go. Societies were formed to help these women and
children that had no place to go, as did the agreements and the Free Community Marriage Day.
Another consequence of genocide was that hundreds of women were raped. Not only is rape a
very unfortunate circumstance, but it also gave HIV to many women which led to an outbreak in
AIDS.
Another problem that the genocide led to was the country turning on each other. There
was 1 story featured in the movie where a woman, who was a Hutu, married a Tutsis. When the
genocide was occurring, Hutus came and murdered her son, even though he was part Hutu. This
happened often and tore many families apart. 1 out of every 10 were murdered during the first
100 days of the genocide. After the war ended, the country was in complete ruins. Because 90%
of Rwandas population dealt with farming, when many of the fields were destroyed these

farmers had to turn their produce into cash crops. Also, because thousands of men died in the
genocide, women had to begin learning how to take care of businesses. This led to more
freedom and rights for women because they were now being required to take on tasks that were
once only for men.
For the first time in Rwandas history, women are taking charge within the country. In a
country with a population of 1.8 million people, only about a third of women can read and write.
For women to be making such great strides in history, given their sheltered background, is great.
In the last couple of decades, women have gone from not even having her own property if
something happens to her husband, to being able to hold seats in Parliament and determine laws
set for the whole country. Though womens rights are still not as equal as mens, the women of
Rwanda have made a tremendous leap forward for a brighter future. The women of Rwanda
have led their country from recovery after the genocide, to politically holding power in
Parliament, and are ultimately becoming role models for all.