Gender quotas have significantly improved women's socio-economic empowerment, political representation, economic opportunities, social status, and overall societal development. Rwanda's gender quota system has significantly enhanced women's representation in parliament and decision-making positions. The rise in female representation in national governance has been accompanied by increased encouragement and mandatory participation in local leadership; with gender quotas applied to all local councils and governance structures. The impact of gender quotas on Rwandan society is not well-documented, with little evidence suggesting a negative effect on female economic and power autonomy. It suggests that urban men feel disadvantaged, leading to them withdrawing from civic life, while rural women face exploitation and unpaid work, and men prevent their wives from participating in politics. This study builds on fieldwork conducted in rural Rwanda for five months between June and November 2018. The research involves 56 survey respondents, 186 interviews, 28 focus groups, and 268 participants, including women local leaders, ordinary rural men, and rural women from 15 districts across four Rwanda provinces as of East, West, North, South, including Gakenke, Karongi, Rwamagana, Gatsibo, Gicumbi, Muhanga, Nyamagabe, Ngororero, Huye, Kirehe, Nyamasheke, Musanze, Rusizi, Burera and Nyaruguru. Districts were selected based on their outstanding achievements in economic, social welfare, good governance, justice, and gender equality-related programs as of Imihigo performance contracts’ results of 2016 and 2017. Results from field research indicated that increasing rural women's political participation has boosted earned income, job opportunities, household incomes, and makes women more valuable and respected in rural society. While some men were positive about the recent changes in rural Rwanda, other men were negative and resented women’s economic independence, claiming that empowering rural women socially and economically has led to women disrespecting men.