As Rwandan women grapple with the challenge of rebuilding their lives and their communities, Canada is lending a hand through the Canadian Fund for Gender and Development, our primary source of funding to support Rwandan women.

"The fund helps groups tackle the strategic needs of women in our country," said Marie Kagaju, a former gender expert with the Canadian aid program in Kigali. "We help to mend wounds from the past. We also dig down to the root causes of problems, to make real changes that will have long-term effects."

Since 1998, the fund has supported 66 projects, including consultations for laws to improve the property, marital and labour rights of women; medical and counselling services for abused women; public awareness campaigns to promote social justice and equality for women and girls; information on family planning and AIDS prevention; and voter education for women.

The results are impressive. Rwandan law has improved women's rights in marriage and inheritance. Forced child marriages are no longer legal, and penalties for the abuse and rape of children and babies have been substantially increased. Regulations against child rape are especially important in an environment where many men still believe that sex with an infant or young virgin can cure AIDS. The Association of Widows of the Genocide (AVEGA) is one of the most active women's groups in the country. With support from the fund, AVEGA completed a major survey of services most urgently needed by Rwandan women. Its agenda is practical: it wants existing laws enforced, more emergency medical services for battered women and children, more female police officers and judges, some financial compensation for the way genocide destroyed their families, and more programs to educate the general public about the value of equal rights for women. "Attitudes are changing," said Ms. Kagaju. "People expect the laws to evolve to meet new realities."

The changes in attitudes toward women are apparent in Rwanda. In the late 1990s, women made up fewer than 2 percent of community leaders; however in the 2003 local parliamentary elections, 48 percent of newly elected members of parliament were women. Consequently, Rwanda has the highest percentage of female members of parliament in the world.

Jacques Lepine, a former Head of Aid at the Canadian embassy in Kigali, once observed broad general acceptance of the new moves toward more equal rights for women. "After the upheavals and horrors they've seen in recent years, people here are ready for major change. Rwandans are resilient people," he said. "They want to support a climate of better values and more equality."

In 2004, the Canadian Gender and Development Fund entered into its third stage of programming. Its dual objective is to contribute to poverty reduction among both men and women, as well as achieve the sustainable development of a more just and gender-equitable society in Rwanda. Various activities include technical management and leadership training, development and distribution of gender analysis tools, institutional support to female elected officials, as well as studies, action-research and advocacy for gender equality in rural development and local governance.