subject: Prejudice and Discrimination [print this page] Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice and discrimination are two actions that are against human rights. Many people have suffered from them. It normally stems from those who are a bit powerful against a minority or a less powerful group. Rwanda is one of the countries that some of its people experience the same. This article addresses the group, reason behind the discrimination as well as the effects that these vices have had in the group.
Various Cultures, Races and Ethnicities That Exist In Rwanda
Rwanda is a country surrounded by several mountains in Central East Africa. It is bordered by Uganda to the north, Tanzania on the Eastern Side, Zaire to the west and Burundi on the southern part. Rwanda has a population of 8, 440, 820 people. There are three ethnic groups in this country, Batwa, Hutu and Tutsi. The Batwa makes 0.4% of the total population while the Tutsi's makes 14 % while the Hutu's make up 85 % of the total population. There are also very few Europeans and Asians in the country. The Hutu are Bantus and are generally, traditional farmers. They have the same origin with the Bantu of Central and Eastern Africa. They are tall and bigger in body mass as compared to the Batwa. In their farm work, work is equally divided between men and women. They farm along Virungi forest (kreger, 2008). The Tutsi on the other hand are warriors and herdsmen. They are different from both the Batwa and Hutu. They are hunters and gatherers, and are the first inhabitants of Rwanda. There are three languages spoken in this country, French, Kinyarwanda and Kiswahili. There are also three religions, Christianity, Islam and Traditional African religion (Kreger, 2008).
A clear differentiation between race and ethnicity
Race is a term that is widely used though its definition is usually given as a description. This is because it can not be adequately defined. People normally use for example, physical characteristics to describe race. An example is an individual's complexion is one of the factors that people use to define the race of an individual. People are termed for example as black race or white race. Ethnicity on the other hand denotes the origin of people, their culture, and religion (Minority Rights Group International, 2009). These characteristics give them a sense of identity. The traits are passed from one generation to another.
Examples of discrimination in Rwanda
Batwa is the marginalized group in Rwanda. The Batwa group is discriminated upon by the Tutsi and the Hutus just because they are few and their culture is considered primitive. This group speaks Kinyarwanda just like the rest of the population. They are looked upon as dirty and backward by the other ethnic groups. They have a little say in the government since they are not represented as the other groups. They are also not included in the education plans in the country. In addition, they are not taken care of in the health sector and in the media. Batwa faces discrimination in the work places. For example, they are given odd jobs and little pay. They face land grabbing by the other ethnic groups and no one is there to listen to their grievances yet they claim to have been the first owners of the land. During the genocide in the country, most of this group died basically because the government sponsored the Hutu military to do away with them. This was called the Interahamwe military. It is notable that as much as they were the original owners of the land only 1.6 percent of this group currently, owns land and few of them have livestock. Most of the remaining percentage is squatters and others are tenants in the other ethnic groups (Minority Rights Group International, 2009). More than 91 percent of this population does not have formal education. Unfortunately again, there is no where that the government addresses the needs of the Batwa in its plans for education in the country. They are also extremely poor thus preventing them from playing any role in the economy of the country. The post 1994-government refused to acknowledge the fact that Batwa is a marginalized group and this has contributed largely to the continued discrimination of this small group. Due to an employment, most of them travel long distances to get odd jobs which unfortunately are lowly paid. It is a reported fact that their women are also sexually assaulted. Their children are also verbally abused when they attend school. The girl children as well as women are also sexually harassed teachers in school (Warrilow, 2009).
Effects of prejudice and discrimination of Batwa in Rwanda
Their inability to read has led them to be backward in the development. Women have also been forced to be sex workers in the urban centers in order to help their families meet their daily needs. Due to the sexual assault, it has resulted in unwanted pregnancies and spread of HIV/AIDS among this group in Rwanda. This eventually has resulted in school drop out and poor performance by the affected children (Warrilow, 2009). In this exercise, they are normally paid so little in form of money and sometimes they are paid by being offered beer. This eventually has resulted in school drop out and poor performance by the affected children (Warrilow, 2009).
