World Bank ranks Kenya among best in promoting equality women

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya has been ranked among the countries in sub-Saharan African countries that have made strides in enacting laws that promote equality between men and women, according to a World Bank report.

The report monitors 189 economies globally, including 47 in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law 2018 Report, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Tanzania, and Zambia collectively carried out 13 reforms in the past two years to remove legal barriers to women’s economic inclusion. 

Economic inclusion

The changes were among 34 reforms carried out throughout sub-Saharan Africa, which accounted for one-third of all reforms carried out globally.

Kenya enacted its first domestic violence law, which protects family members and current and former spouses and partners from physical, sexual, psychological, and economic abuse.

The country also provides legal aid in civil matters and has improved access to credit information by distributing data from credit reference bureaus.

“Progress in sub-Saharan Africa is heartening. Despite the myriad challenges facing the region, many governments are working to rescind laws, often holdovers from the colonial era, that discriminate against women,” said Sarah Iqbal, the programme manager of the Women, Business and the Law project. 

 Gender discrimination

Zambia’s Gender Equity and Equality Act prohibits gender discrimination in employment and mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value.

It has established the Gender Equality Commission and prohibits discrimination based on gender and marital status, and puts in place remedies for sexual harassment at the workplace.

Tanzania has made primary education both free and compulsory, and allows legal aid in civil proceedings.

Reforms carried out in the DRC include change to allow married women to sign contracts, get jobs, open bank accounts, and register businesses.