The role of HAGURUKA NGO in advocating for the rights of Children and Women

HAGURUKA has the mission of promoting and protecting women and children’s rights through national and international legal framework and policies, research and advocacy, capacity building with partners, mobilization of the community, provision of psycho-social assistance, legal and judicial assistance to the beneficiaries and other partners as well as advocating for vulnerable people.

Ninette UMURERWA

HAGURUKA has expertise in the legal field, Gender Based Violence (GBV), land and family matters and it has also helped vulnerable people to have access to justice.

Started 1991 when GBV practices and gender inequalities were very high in the community, HAGURUKA took the first initiative in offering legal advice to women and girls and training workers in villages on their rights and legal procedures as a move to combat GBV practices in the country.

However, activities of HAGURUKA were interrupted by the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis but since 1996, AGURUKA is still fulfilling its mandate. HAGURUKA receives different cases and assists the victims. Among these cases include causes related to paternity establishment, child support and custody, inheritance and succession. Others are in relation to assaults and batteries, murder, and child defilement.

HAGURUKA played a key role in influencing the government to put in place laws and policies aiming at enhancing the principle of gender equality, a good example for this is the law No 22/1999 of 12th November 1999 to supplement book one of the Civil Code and to institute Part Five regarding Matrimonial Regimes, Liberalities and Successions. Even though it has been repealed, it was the first law in Rwanda that entitled women succession rights.

HAGURUKA has also contributed to the enactment of the law No 59/2008 of 10th September 2008 on the Prevention and Punishment of Gender Based Violence.

Through these initiatives and other programmes, women and children, who were mostly the victims, are now aware of their rights through sensitization programs and talk shows carried out by HAGURUKA in the last few years.

HAGURUKA has also played a significant role in addressing the violence committed against children. From 2012 to 2016 HAGURUKA has implemented a project in Gatsibo and Bugesera Districts aiming at educating secondary school students on their rights and combating the violence committed against them. Haguruka assisted students in 50 schools in Gatsibo and Bugesera districts to create child’s rights clubs with the aim of combating violence against children.

In the past five years, HAGURUKA legally assisted 354 cases regarding sexual violence committed against children. Remarkably, in 2010 Haguruka treated a high number of sexual violence cases against children comparing to the years that followed.

Photo by HAGURUKA NGO

HAGURUKA also played a pivotal role as far as civil rehabilitation of GBV survivors is concerned. For instance, HAGURUKA helped a girl who had been raped by the husband of her sister-in-law when she had visited them.

Since her sister-in-law was infertile, she consulted a sorcerer who told her that her husband should have sex with her virgin sister or sister-in-law in order to give birth. The husband raped her for three consecutive weeks and eventually this young girl got pregnant. HAGURUKA provided the young lady a lawyer who represented her in court of law claiming the compensation of the victim. The court convicted the offender and sentenced him with 5 years of imprisonment. Regarding compensations, the court ruled that the offender has to pay Rwf3.6 million of damages to the victim.

HAGURUKA continues the journey of combating all forms of GBV whether committed against children or women as it is indicated in its new strategic plan of 2017 to 2022.
HAHURUKA believes that Rwanda cannot have a good future if children are not protected against whatever kind of violence. HAGURUKA also recognizes that the future of the Rwanda lies in the hands of the children.

The author is the National Executive Secretary of HAGURUKA NGO.