Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum

The Rwanda Women Parliamentary Forum (French: Forum des Femmes Rwandaises Parlementaires; FFRP) is a cross-party women’s caucus aimed at uniting women in the Rwandan parliament towards common goals, and championing gender equality interests at the legislative level.^[1] Founded in 1996, the FFRP’s specific objectives include building solidarity among female members of parliament (MPs) regardless of differing party ideologies, supporting women in parliament to get involved in the revision or repeal of laws that discriminate against women, and to raise awareness among other MPs, as well as public and private institutions, about the importance of gender equality. Their motto is “solidarity, women's empowerment and equality”. ^[2]

The FFRP is a part of Rwanda's national gender machinery. It advocates that all national laws and policies give consideration to gender issues, including the country's national budget. The FFRP also works to build the capacity of women Parliamentarians, in order to carry out advocacy around gender and development issues, and to successfully manage their other parliamentary duties.^[3]