State asked to deal with gender violence during poll

By Joe Kiarie and Lillian Aluanga-Delvaux

 The United Nations has called on the Kenyan Government to decisively deal with election related gender violence in the run-up to the General Elections.

Speaking during a forum on the Commission on the Status of Women and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), UN Women Country Director (Kenya) Zebib Kavuma, noted that such violence is likely to increase in the coming months unless deliberate action is taken to ensure safety and security for all.

“Women must feel safe to participate in elections both as voters and as candidates at all levels of Government,” she said during the convention on the dissemination of the Commission on the Status of Women outcomes 2012.

Ms Kavuma was emphatic that while the UN applauds reforms in the policy and legislative front in Kenya to eradicate all forms of discrimination against women, changes must be seen in practice and culture to ensure women are enjoying a violent-free society.

“While I again hail the legal and policy strides such as the Constitution and the Sexual Offences Act, we need to upscale these efforts especially as we approach the General Elections.

Still rampant

Kavuma said violence against women and girls in all its forms and manifestations remains rampant in Kenya, noting that females living in remote areas should be accorded special attention as they face additional social cultural barriers to accessing support and protective services.

In her presentation on concluding observations made on Kenya’s 7th report on CEDAW, FIDA-Kenya Executive Director Grace Maingi reiterated the need for the country to establish a Special Tribunal to investigate the 2007/8-post election violence.

Besides ensuring that all gender machinery, like the Gender and Equality Commission are adequately staffed, Maingi noted that implementation of the two thirds Gender rule as stipulated by the Constitution is also key to increasing the number of women in public office.

Although the Constitution grants women one third of all elective positions, the country is yet to arrive at a mechanism that will ensure implementation of the rule.

CEDAW is an international human rights treaty that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1979. It is often described as an International Bill of Rights for women and outlines what constitutes discrimination against women as well as sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

Major hurdles

It also gives the basis for realising equality between the sexes through ensuring women’s equal access to opportunities in political life that includes the right to vote and vie for various positions.

Although Kenya ratified Cedaw in 1984, it is yet to do the same for the Optional Protocol to the Convention.

Ratifying the Optional Protocol would mean that the State recognises Cedaw’s competence to receive complaints directly from individuals or groups within its jurisdiction.

Maingi noted that while the Government had made gains in establishing programmes and policies to address discrimination against women, the pace in domesticating laws linked to Cedaw that address marriage and family, matrimonial property, and domestic violence was still wanting.

Women relegated

Kavuma called on the civil society, development partners, the media, the private sector and other actors to all evaluate their role in complimenting the Government in achieving its gender equality mandate.

“Research shows that empowering women is not just good for women. It is good for all of us, for peace, the growth of our economies, for food security, for human security and the well-being of current and future generations,” she stated.

Ms Beatrice Gambo, a women’s representative in the Office of the Prime Minister, called on women to take advantage of the many elective positions that will be available in the next elections to assume power.

“When we come to the electioneering period, women are usually relegated to composing campaign songs. That is the perception of the majority. We must make them know they can have much more input in policy making,” she said.

Women representatives from the counties attending the conference nonetheless took the conveners to task, saying women empowerment should now be decentralised to the counties.

“We are tired of attending meetings in Nairobi and sleeping in posh hotels. The votes are in the grassroots but some of us have never seen any women’s empowerment forums at down there. It is getting too late to make any meaningful change,” one delegate said.