Annually, March 8th is International Women’s Day. It’s a day for reflecting on the progress women have made in various arenas and celebrating their achievements as well as renewing calls for further action to address persisting gender inequalities.
UN Women’s call to action ‘to step it up for gender equality’ is linked to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that States, including Kenya, agreed on in September 2015 in New York. Goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empowerment of women.
It recognises the centrality of gender equality to the achievement of sustainable development in any country.
This call to action is for all to take decisive steps in building momentum towards the achievement of gender equality by the year 2030.
The momentum towards gender equality in Kenya has steadily grown over the last two decades. Today, the underlying legal framework in the form of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 is solid. It recognises gender equality as a fundamental principle in the country’s development and governance.
Article 27 seeks to address the historical exclusion of women and other groups from the governance structures through various affirmative action measures. Women have been granted equal right to property inheritance.
They can today pass on citizenship to their children and foreign spouses. In terms of policies the Government of Kenya has established some of the most ambitious measures to improve the well-being of women.
To address their limited opportunities to improve their incomes, it has introduced the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities scheme. Thousands of women are today engaged in sustainable income generating activities.
While gaps remain in the legal and policy frameworks for moving towards gender equality, Kenya is headed in the right direction. However, to ensure these laws and policies transform the reality for women and girls there is still a lot more that needs to be done.
The effects of gender inequality are evident in so many aspects of the lives of women and girls in Kenya.
Their safety, health and economic empowerment are still influenced by the fact that they were born as women.
Women account for less than 5 per cent of land owners. They are more likely to be infected with HIV and Aids. According to the 2014 Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) Report, 38 per cent of women are victims of domestic violence compared to 9 per cent of men.
The report also indicates that 41 percent of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Women account for 19 percent of the Members of the parliament.
The next frontier in Kenya’s march toward gender equality must therefore focus on stepping up implementation of the legal and policy frameworks it has put in place.
In order to translate this relatively strong legal and policy foundation into tangible results in the lives of Kenyan women and men, attention will need to turn to investing in domestic financial and human resources to programmes geared toward achieving gender equality.
As we toast to the achievements of women, all of us - men and women - should take steps towards closing the gender gap. Whether by supporting women and girls to achieve their ambitions, or by calling for gender-balanced leadership, by respecting and valuing differences, by shunning harmful cultural practices or rooting out work place bias.
Each one of us can champion gender equality in our own spheres of influence. His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta has led the way, by signing on as a gender champion.
