Lend tribute to the women in our lives

Today, as the world marks International Women’s Day, we must critically analyse achievements made thus far towards emancipation of women.

While it is often argued that women are marginalised, how true that is remains debatable. Recently, there has been clamour for the recognition of boy’s rights, which, some quarters claim, are being neglected in light of intense activism for women’s rights.

However, there can be no mistake as to which gender is more privileged. In political circles, men dominate Parliament and the Cabinet. As far as education is concerned, there are more boys than girls in schools, yet girls outnumber boys according to population statistics.

In employment, men control decision-making processes as managers and directors of companies. Women, on the other hand, are to be found in large numbers in secondary positions where their opinions, even when sought, are often ignored.

In the rural areas, while women make up majority of the agricultural workforce, most are not in control of the resources and revenue as it is controlled by male relations.

This reality has long conspired against women, ensuring they remain economically disenfranchised and dependent on the men in their lives (fathers, brothers, uncles, husbands and in-laws).

The struggle for equality should never be confused with a tussle for supremacy. Calls for gender equality and equity are not a masked campaign to wrest power and control from men.

Instead, it is the struggle to uplift the status of women from their downtrodden level where they remain vulnerable to abuse, to a position where they are recognised as human and are free to make decisions that affect their lives and their children.

Head of State

The only way to achieve this is through education, economic empowerment and the enactment and implementation of laws that favour equality of the sexes. That is the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day — ‘Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities; Progress for All’.

Last year, the President decreed that all appointments through all cadres should reflect at least 30 per cent representation of women. Sadly, the Head of State has in the past openly broken his own directive, encouraging other leaders and corporate heads to follow his lead.

Despite the commendable free primary education initiative, girls are still being denied education and pulled out of school to either be married off early or forced to work to increase family incomes. In all this, the girls are expected to obey and not complain about the discriminative abuse.

At the workplace, women are paid less than their male colleagues even where they share the same tasks and responsibilities. Sexual exploitation is rampant. In almost every sphere, women are misused and abused simply because of their gender.

Yet, for any country to develop, women must be appreciated and their contribution to society recognised. There is no way Kenya will ever develop and achieve first-rate status if half of its population is marginalised and poor. The disenfranchised women will undoubtedly drag the empowered population down.

By denying women equal rights, opportunities and access to resources, our society is deliberately shooting itself in the foot by pretending we are heading towards Vision 2030 and achieving overall development for all.

The traditional demarcation of roles and responsibilities between men and women are no longer effective in today’s complex world. For there to be harmony in families and society at large, we have to wake up, smell the coffee and be more realistic.

Sexual exploitation

If the status of families is to rise and for the country to realise full actualisation, women must be incorporated in governance and development agendas. Their true worth must be appreciated and their positive contributions recognised. Only then can progress for all be achieved.

We must, therefore, continue to agitate for an end to FGM, access to education, employment rights, family planning methods, protective laws against sexual exploitation and abuses and all other forms of negative and harmful rites and practises against women.

International Women’s Day was first marked in Copenhagen in 1910, and in its centenary today we must, ultimately, ensure a fair and level playing ground for men and women.