Why Burundi women are sidelined despite gender quota

vote

A woman casts her ballot during general elections at the Bubu Primary school in Giheta, Central Burundi on May 20, 2020. PHOTO | AFP

Since 2005, Burundi has set quotas to ensure that the country’s three ethnic groups (Hutu, Tutsi and Twa), as well as women, are represented in its parliament, central government and municipal administrations. Its constitution states that women should make up at least 30 percent of these institutions.

The senate, Burundi’s highest chamber of parliament, recently started a process of evaluating ethnic quotas in political institutions.