Politics
Map
East Africa
After the Second World War, East African countries rose up against their European rulers to take control of their own governments. Today, East African countries are democratic and most governments are fairly stable. However, there has been a lot of corruption and many lives have been lost in the struggle for fair political representation. In countries where the government is unstable, human rights are often ignored. Here is one important example:
Rwandan Genocide
After becoming an independent country in 1962, the two main ethnic tribes—the Hutu (pronounced hoo-too) majority and Tutsi (pronounce toot-see) minority—struggled for decades over control. The Tutsis were favored by the Belgian colonialists who formerly controlled the country. After independence, the Hutus wanted more representation.
In 1994, the conflict exploded into a Hutu-led genocide which left 800,000 Rwandans dead. Government instability caused by the assassination of President Juvénal Habyarimana is thought to have triggered the violence.
Rwanda’s Powerful Women
Today, Rwanda is a country that has bounced back from an unbelievable tragedy. Rwanda’s women are a big reason why. Women like Aloisea Inyumba—then Minister of Family, Gender and Social Affairs—helped rebuild the country by finding homes for the 500,000 children orphaned in the genocide. Almost half the country’s politicians are women—that’s the highest proportion in the world! These women are working hard to build lasting peace.