The Constitution is the supreme law in Rwanda and includes laws for persons with disabilities. Article 11 of the constitution states:
All Rwandans are born and remain free and equal in rights and duties. Discrimination of whatever kind based on, inter alia, ethnic origin, tribe, clan, colour, sex, region, social origin, religion or faith, opinion, economic status, culture, language, social status, physical or mental disability, or any other form of discrimination, is prohibited and punishable by the law (The Republic of Rwanda, 2015).
The Ministry of Justice passed the Rwanda Disability Law No. 01/2007 which protects persons with disabilities in general. This law covers many different areas for persons with disabilities including; education, health matters, employment, culture, entertainment, sports, transportation, communication and access to infrastructure. More on this law can be found: http://www.africanchildforum.org/clr/Legislation%20Per%20Country/Rwanda/rwanda_disability_2007_en.pdf. Rwanda is one of the more developing countries in Africa when it comes to persons with disabilities. The government is committed to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. The country has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2008 (UNICEF, n.d.). There has been a strong focus on protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, especially children, since the ratification. This can be seen in the Integrated Child Rights Policy (2011), this policy allows the right for children to grow in a safe and protected environment and to ensure that they are raised in a caring environment (UNICEF, n.d.).
Of the 12 million people in Rwanda, children ages 0-14 make up approximately 42.9% (Humanium, n.d.). Rwanda has one of the highest rates of children receiving education in Africa. Approximately, 97.7% of children receive primary education and only 32.9% will receive secondary education (UNICEF, 2016). Only 70% of children with disabilities are enrolled in secondary schools. This remains a huge issue in Rwanda. As you can see many children do not attend secondary schooling. There is not much information on high school graduation rates for persons with disabilities.
The labor force of Rwanda is an estimated 6.227 million for 2017 (Central of Intelligence Agency, n.d.). Women are The major sources by occupation are agriculture, industry and services. The unemployment rate is 2.7%, which seems relatively low. Rwanda lacks the employment and unemployment rates for persons with disabilities specifically. But it was clear through several articles that it is difficult for persons with disabilities, especially young persons with disabilities, to find jobs because stigma is still such an issue with employer’s in the country. There is a policy that has mad specific employment programs for persons with disabilities. The government will be implementing several things to help persons with disabilities. Some of these things will include assistance programs and training, incentive programs for employment of persons with disabilities and making work environment conducive and favorable to the persons with disability (REPUBLIC OF RWANDA, 2007). The goal is to promote the employment of persons with disabilities and stopping the underemployment. In 2010, females had greater employment rate at 85.2% than that of men with a rate of 83.2% (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, n.d.).
Works Cited
Central of Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). CIA.gov. Retrieved from The World FactBook: Rwanda: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rw.html
Humanium. (n.d.). Realizing Children’s Rights in Rwanda. Retrieved from Humanium.org: https://www.humanium.org/en/rwanda/
National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda. (n.d.). http://www.mifotra.gov.rw/fileadmin/templates/downloads/National%20Employment%20Policy.pdf. Retrieved from statistics.gov.rw: http://statistics.gov.rw/node/718
REPUBLIC OF RWANDA. (2007, December). National Employment Policy. Retrieved from Mifortra.gov: http://www.mifotra.gov.rw/fileadmin/templates/downloads/National%20Employment%20Policy.pdf
The Republic of Rwanda. (2015). INITIAL REPORT OF RWANDA ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES .
UNICEF. (2016). Education. Retrieved from Unicef.org: https://www.unicef.org/rwanda/education.html
UNICEF. (n.d.). nternational Consultant: Assessment of the situation of children and young adults with disabilities in institutional care in Rwanda. Retrieved from UNICEF.org: https://www.unicef.org/rwanda/about_16908.html
November 1, 2018 at 7:52 pm
Jessica,
I enjoyed reading your post. This was all new information for me. I found it surprising that only 70% of students with disabilities attended secondary school. I would be interested in learning what kind of schooling is provided for those with disabilities? Hopefully there are other options with more specialized care and education. I was also surprised to learn that women tend to work more so than men in Rwanda. This seems to be the opposite of most other cultures.