Alhamdulillah for the completion and defence of my Master’s dissertation. After months of reading, writing, data collection, analysis, revisions, and finally defending the work, I am grateful to have completed my Master of Legislative Studies (MLS) at the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies/University of Benin (NILDS/UNIBEN). My dissertation is titled: “Evolution and Influencing Factors of Women’s Legislative Leadership in Rwanda: Lessons for Nigeria.” The motivation for this research came from a question that has continued to concern me as someone interested in legislatures, governance and public policy: Why does Nigeria continue to experience such low levels of women's representation in its National Assembly despite decades of national, regional and international commitments to women's political participation? Nigeria is a party to CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol, both of which recognise the importance of women's equal participation in political and public life. At the national level, Nigeria's National Gender Policy established a 35% affirmative-action target for women's representation in decision-making. Yet, since the return to democratic rule in 1999, women's representation has never reached 15% in either chamber of the National Assembly. Currently, 17 of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives are occupied by women (4.7%), while only 4 women are in the Senate. This persistent gap between commitment and representation was one of the central reasons I became interested in Rwanda. Rwanda presents a strikingly different experience. Article 75(3) of Rwanda's 2023 Constitution provides that “at least 30% of Deputies must be women.” Yet women currently hold 51 of the 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, representing 63.8% of the chamber. My research therefore sought to understand how Rwanda got there, what factors sustained the progress, and what lessons could be relevant to Nigeria. The study found that Rwanda's progress cannot be explained by gender quotas alone. Women's legislative leadership evolved through the interaction of constitutional and legal reforms, gender-inclusive electoral arrangements, political commitment, institutional support, women's organisations, leadership development and changing socio-political attitudes. The research also found that patriarchal norms and traditional gender expectations continue to influence women's political participation, demonstrating that institutional reforms must be accompanied by broader socio-cultural change. Importantly, the study did not establish religion as an independent or dominant barrier to women's legislative leadership in Rwanda. The study recommends that Nigeria go beyond simply encouraging women to contest elections. Strengthening women's legislative leadership requires stronger legal and constitutional mechanisms, institutional accountability, leadership development and mentorship, greater political-party commitment, and measures addressing financial, electoral, security and socio-cultural barriers. At the same time, Rwanda's experience should not be copied mechanically. Its relevant institutional lessons must be adapted to Nigeria's own constitutional, political and socio-cultural realities. I am particularly grateful to Hon. Gihana Donatha, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of Rwanda, for her support and engagement during the data-collection stage of this research. Her institutional perspective contributed meaningfully to my understanding of women's legislative leadership in Rwanda. I also sincerely appreciate Dr. Manzuma for his unwavering support throughout the research process. While undertaking his lecturing sabbatical in Rwanda, he played an important role in facilitating access to relevant information and assisting with data collection. I am equally grateful to my supervisors, lecturers, colleagues, family, friends and everyone who supported me throughout this journey.