This article surveys the evolution of Rwandan family planning practices from the nation’s mythico-historical origins to the present. Rwanda is typically regarded as a patriarchal society in which Rwandan women have, throughout history, endured limited rights and opportunities. However, oral traditions narrated by twentieth-century Rwandan historians, storytellers and related experts, and interpreted by the scholars and missionaries who lived in Rwanda during the nation’s colonial period, suggest that gender norms in Rwanda were more complicated. Shifting practices related to family planning – particularly access to contraception, abortion, vasectomies and related strategies – are but one arena in which this becomes evident, suggesting that women’s roles within their families and communities could be more diverse than the historiography’s narrow focus on women as wives and mothers currently allows. Drawing upon a range of colonial-era oral traditions and interviews conducted with Rwandans since 2007, I argue that Rwandan women – while under significant social pressure to become wives and mothers throughout the nation’s past – did find ways to exert agency within and beyond these roles. I further maintain that understanding historical approaches to family planning in Rwanda is essential for informing present-day policy debates in Rwanda aimed at promoting gender equality, and in particular for ensuring women’s rights and access to adequate healthcare are being upheld.

中文翻译：

---

“没有其他选择吗？”：历史视角下的卢旺达性别规范和计划生育

本文调查了卢旺达计划生育实践从该国的神话历史起源到现在的演变。卢旺达通常被认为是一个男权社会，卢旺达妇女在历史上一直忍受着有限的权利和机会。然而，由 20 世纪卢旺达历史学家、故事讲述者和相关专家讲述的口述传统，以及在该国殖民时期居住在卢旺达的学者和传教士的口述传统，表明卢旺达的性别规范更为复杂。与计划生育有关的转变做法——特别是获得避孕药具、堕胎、输精管切除术和相关策略——只是体现这一点的一个领域，这表明女性在家庭和社区中的角色可能比史学目前对女性作为妻子和母亲的狭隘关注更加多样化。借鉴一系列殖民时代的口头传统和自 2007 年以来对卢旺达人进行的采访，我认为卢旺达妇女——尽管在整个国家过去都承受着成为妻子和母亲的巨大社会压力——确实找到了在这些角色内外发挥作用的方法. 我进一步认为，了解卢旺达计划生育的历史方法对于为卢旺达当前旨在促进性别平等的政策辩论提供信息至关重要，特别是对于确保妇女的权利和获得适当医疗保健的机会。借鉴一系列殖民时代的口头传统和自 2007 年以来对卢旺达人进行的采访，我认为卢旺达妇女——尽管在整个国家过去都承受着成为妻子和母亲的巨大社会压力——确实找到了在这些角色内外发挥作用的方法. 我进一步认为，了解卢旺达计划生育的历史方法对于为卢旺达当前旨在促进性别平等的政策辩论提供信息至关重要，特别是对于确保妇女的权利和获得适当医疗保健的机会。借鉴一系列殖民时代的口头传统和自 2007 年以来对卢旺达人进行的采访，我认为卢旺达妇女——尽管在整个国家过去都承受着成为妻子和母亲的巨大社会压力——确实找到了在这些角色内外发挥作用的方法. 我进一步认为，了解卢旺达计划生育的历史方法对于为卢旺达当前旨在促进性别平等的政策辩论提供信息至关重要，特别是对于确保妇女的权利和获得适当医疗保健的机会。