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Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
EDITORIAL
Another Labour
Day but few
women to celebrate
at the top
A
lthough the situation is slowly improving, employment for women
in Kenya as is the case in most
African countries is characterised
by subsistence and small scale farming or
menial jobs.
While agriculture forms bedrock of the
economy making Kenya one of the leading
exporters of coffee and tea as well as horticultural products, it is unfortunate that
women do not form part of the significant
decision making processes in relation to how
land is used.
Research shows that despite the feminisation of agriculture, women only occupy the labour provision cadre and very few rise to levels
where they have the veto powers on land.
The land sector has been and continues to
undergo critical reform processes, this has led
to the establishment of a National Land Policy
which is viewed by many as a gender sensitive
document that if implemented could lead to
fairer and just utilization of land.
Historical injustices in relation to land allocation particularly from a gender perspective have been resolved in provision within
the new Constitution that has also been applauded as being gender friendly. The new
law is seen as another avenue to address the
marginalization of women in relation to land
ownership and utilization.
In deed with the land privatization policies and regulations of the 1970s relegated
the position of women to toiling away in
farms as they implemented their unsatisfactory powers leaving disposal and ownership
powers to their male counterparts.
Women were called
and they came out in
large numbers
Labour
As yet another Labour Day is marked,
the public discourse should also shift towards interventions to improve the plight of
the Kenyan woman. In recent times, feminization of poverty has become an issue of
concern. The rise of female headed households particularly among the poor leaves a
lot to be desired.
For women to rise to their greatest potential, there is need for them to be empowered
not just under the law, but with legal provisions that work within cultural frameworks
for it to succeed. Towards this end, gender
mainstreaming should be felt in all sectors of
governance.
The recent case against the Executive by
the G-10 over judicial nominations was a
clear indication that the country is ripe for
gender sensitive processes.
However, various stakeholders need to
roll out civic education to unravel the misunderstanding around the gender concept.
There is need for the public to understand that gender equity and equality it is not
a battle of the sexes but that both men and
women are equal stakeholders in the building of the nation.
It is with utter excitement that of the 13
applicants to the position of the Deputy of
Public Prosecutions, five of them are women.
Although the journey towards gender equality and equity has been long and winding,
the country is moving in the right direction.
The High Court with the judges who are currently working there. Centre is the immediate former Chief Justice Evan Gicheru who has since left
office. Interviews are going on to have the position filled.. Pictures: Kenyan Woman Correspondent.
…By Jane Godia
W
hen members of the
women’s coalition, the
G-10 filed a suit in court
disputing presidential
nominations to top Judiciary positions,
they were not mincing any words as to
what gender equality stands for.
The women, in a pioneering move
to constitutionalism, gave an indication of what it means to have affirmative action at work. While the
President and his advisors might have
misunderstood the term affirmative
action already firmly entrenched in
the new law, the women’s organisations
knew that if they let this one pass, then
they would be doomed to discrimination forever.
The Stanford dictionary defines Affirmative Action as being able to take
positive steps to increase the representation of women and minorities in
areas of employment, education, and
business from which they have been
historically excluded. When those
steps involve preferential selection —
selection on the basis of race, gender,
or ethnicity — affirmative action generates intense controversy.
Affirmative action is, therefore, an
attempt to promote equal opportunity
and dignity for all. It is often instituted
to ensure that minority groups within a
society are included in all programmes.
The justification for affirmative action
is to compensate for past discrimination, persecution or exploitation by the
ruling class of a culture or to address
existing discrimination.
While this is what the Constitution of Kenya agitates for, the President seemed to have consciously ignored the rule of law by releasing an
all male list to the positions of Chief
Justice; Attorney General; Director of
Public Prosecutions and Comptroller
of Budget.
Equality
The President in his action ignored Article 27 that speaks to Equality and Freedom from discrimination.
Article 27 (1) says: “Every person is
equal before the law and has the right
to equal protection and equal benefit
of the law. And (3) says: “Women and
men have the right to equal treatment,
including the right to equal
opportunities in political, economic,
cultural and social spheres.”
Today, women are hoping against
hope that at least one of their lot will
be appointed to these key positions.
AQ lot of lobbying was done by women’s rights institutions such as FIDA,
Maendeleo ya Wanawake and the National Commission on Gender among
others to have as many women as possible apply.
There are ten candidates who have
been shortlisted for the position of
Chief Justice that will be appointed by
end of May. Out of these candidates
are two women judges Kalpana Rawal
and Mary Ang’awa. The fact that these
two have made it to the last 10 is a big
credit for women.
Continued on page 2
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Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Women came out in large numbers
from page 1
Justice Ang’awa joined the bench at a time when there were only three women
employed as magistrates. She joined the Judiciary in 1980
as a magistrate. ln 1980, her first appointment was as a district Magistrate (Prof) Class II and two years later a Resident
Magistrate attached to the Kibera Law Courts.
Ang’awa is graduate of the university of Nairobi (LLB
(Hon.) 1979) where her dissertation was on land tenure in
Mathare Valley slums of Nairobi. In 1979, she joined the Kenya School of Law passing with distinction and being one
of two women and sixteen men to pass the examinations in
April 1980, out of 72 candidates. She was then admitted an
advocate of the High Court of Kenya in the same year.
In June 1993 she was appointed to the High Court as
a Judge. In 2005 she graduated with a master’s degree in
Law LLM with her dissertation being on the Law of Succession and human rights.
Ang’awa who was on October 11, 2008, awarded the
International Woman of the Year by the Association of the
Adventist Women for distinguished service in the public sector, has also chaired the Kenya Women
Judges Association.
Justice Rawal has 28 years experience in practice as an advocate three of
which she spent as an Advocate of the High Court of India
and the rest in Kenya. She holds Bachelor of Arts degree,
Bachelors and Master of Laws in constitutional and administrative law. She started her career in law by teaching Administration and Police Officers at Lower Kabete in
1975. She would in 1975 open a private practice being the
first woman in the country to do so.
She was appointed Commissioner of Assize from June
1999. Prior to her appointment as a Commissioner of Assize in July, 1999 she was a practitioner in criminal law,
family law, commercial law and conveyancing. She was
later appointed a High Court Judge on June 2, 2000. Rawal has had the duty of taking statements from potential
witnesses of the post election violence.
Other than these two women being shortlisted for the
position of Chief Justice, Ang’awa has also been shortlisted
for the position of Deputy Chief Justice since she applied
for both positions. Out of the 13 who applied for the position, eight made it to the interview stage.
Women dominate this list and they include Ang’awa, Justice Roselyne Nambuye, Mary Kasongo,
Hannah Okwengu, Martha Koome, Nancy Baraza and Gladys Shollei. Justice Joseph Nyamu is only
one man for this position.
Justice Koome was appointed Judge of the High Court on May 22, 2003. She
obtained her Law degree from the University of Nairobi in
1986 and was admitted to the Bar in 1987. Prior to joining
the Judiciary, she was in private practice. She is also renowned as an advocate for gender equality and protection
of women’s rights. She served as the Chairperson of the
Federation of Kenyan Women Lawyers (FIDA) and was in
charge of policy formulation and maintaining liaison with
other NGOs and other donors.
Koome is currently based in the family division of the
High Court where she deals with probate and administration
matters, divorce, maintenance and custody of children.
Justice Mary N. Kasango was called to the bar in Lincoln’s
Inn at Chancery Lane in London in 1979. This was after her
graduation from the Council of Legal Education, Grays Inn.
Before her appointment as a Judge of the High Court
in 2003, she was the proprietor and manager of Muhanji-
Kasango Advocates, a busy law firm based in Nairobi which she had established in 1992. During her practicing years, she handled numerous company law litigation briefs largely involving
winding-up and registration of companies, conveyancing and land law litigation. Even with the
demands of managing a busy law practice, she was also a part-time lecturer at the Kenya School
of Law instructing students on the subject of Trust Accounts, a calling she had taken up back in
1987.
Kasango’s private practice and her subsequent appointment to the Bench was the culmination
of a career that began with her service as a law pupil in Bhailal Patel & Patel Advocates in 1983 and
later, between 1985 and 1991, as an associate in Hamilton, Harrison and Matthews Advocates, one
of Kenya’s oldest and leading law firms.
Upon her appointment in 2003, she presided over commercial litigation at the Milimani Commercial Courts in Nairobi until her first upcountry posting in early 2007 to the Nyeri High Court.
Justice Okwengu was admitted as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya
on February, 1980 after qualifying with an LLB (Hons)
Degree from the University of Nairobi (1978) and Diploma in Legal Practice from the Kenya School of Law
(1979).
Okwengu first worked as a Land Registrar in Mombasa, before moving to the Municipal Council of Mombasa
where she worked as an advocate for three years. She then
joined the firm of S.K. Mwangi & Co. Advocates where
she worked for about a year before moving to the Judiciary as an acting Resident Magistrate in October, 1983.
Between 1983 and 1999 Okwengu rose through the ranks
to the position of Chief Magistrate.
In 1999, Okwengu was appointed by his Excellency
the President of Kenya as Assistant Director Kenya AntiCorruption Authority (KACA) for a five year term. She
set up the Prosecutions Department of the Authority and
commenced active prosecution of corruption cases. Her
appointment ended prematurely in October, 2001 after KACA was disbanded following a High
Court decision declaring KACA unconstitutional.
Okwengu returned back to the Judiciary and was posted to Mombasa as Chief Magistrate, a
position she held until May, 2003 when she was appointed a Judge of the High Court and posted to
Nyeri High Court. In 2003 to 2004, she was a member of a Constitutional Tribunal appointed by
His Excellency the President to investigate the conduct of a High Court Judge.
Okwengu is currently a member of the Judiciary ICT Committee appointed by the Chief Justice to spearhead reform initiatives in the use of modern technology in the Judiciary. Okwengu
was the recipient of the Law Society of Kenya Award for distinguished service in the Administration of Justice for the year 1998.
Of the eight woman who have been shortlisted for the position of Deputy Chief Justice, Nancy
Baraza and Gladys Shollei are the only ones not serving in the High Court. Baraza is currently the
Vice Chair person Law Review Commission. She is a gender rights advocate and former chairperson Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya.
Shollei is the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer at the Interim Independent Electoral Commission
(IIEC). She is the immediate former Editor and Chief Executive Officer of the National Council of
Law Reporting.
Interviews
The interviews to the positions will be conducted by the Judiciary Service Commission and
will go on uninterrupted from May 3 to May 12. After conducting the interviews, the Commission
will make recommendations to the Head of State who will in turn appoint the Chief Justice after
approval by Parliament.
In setting a new precedence to public office appointments, members of the public will be allowed to comment on the candidates before they are interviewed. Comments on the suitability of
the candidates can be made through the Law Society of Kenya or the Secretary Judiciary Service
Commission.
The Chief Justice may serve for 10 years subject to retirement at the age of 70.
The Constitution does not explicitly require the Commission to send more than one nominee
to the Principals. However, the Commission will forward the nominee for the Deputy Chief Justice
to the principal so they can be forced to have a consensus on the appointments.
Taking positions in the new constitutional dispensation
…By Ryan Mathenge
G
one are the days when women were considered as the
weaker sex after the new constitution moved to enhance equality to all irrespective of gender firmly outlawing gender discrimination.
Today, the Kenyan woman is regarded with high esteem for
having been a strong pillar in bringing up the children and ensuring they got education after many of the men abdicated the
responsibility as they remained glued in search for money and
wealth.
In Murang’a County, where women form the larger proportion of the population, there are many projects that remain a
uniting factor to the founders. Now the women want to go for
the bigger jobs that have been created in the new constitutional
dispensation.
Chairlady of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Kiharu Branch, Ms
Jecinta Ng’ang’a said women are out to make impact by seeking
positions presented to all Kenyans by the new Constitution.
“Over the years we have been left behind taking care of the
children after many of the men remain glued in illicit brews dens,”
said Ng’ang’a. “This time we are going for the leadership and decision making positions.”
The women of Murang’a have organised themselves into various groups and these are the platform they use to improve their
standards of living.
Development
One such group is the Kiriti Women’s Group, with members
drawn from Kangema and Mathioya which was started in the
1990s.
Over the years they have carried out various development
projects. They have managed to construct a residential building
whose value stands at millions of shillings. The women’s hard
work has not escaped the eyes of the provincial administration.
Recently, Murang’a East DC, Mr George Natembeya appreciated the women and lauded the efforts they have put to fight poverty and other social vices.
He said the women stood out in ensuring Mututho law, which
restricts hours which bars open and close as well as restricting
movement of drunkards was enforced.
“The women took on bar owners in Murang’a head on as they
organised demonstrations warning the residents not to be held
hostage by those out to make money through sale of liquor,” said
Natembeya.
The DC lauded the women for being at the forefront on education. He said women have worked hard and ensured that their
children get the best education.
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Issue Number 17 • May 2011
One woman among many men
Nyaundi shines as the only
woman heading a commission
…By Faith Muiruri
S
itting at the helm of the Truth Justice and
Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), Patricia Nyaundi is an epitome of humility. She embodies a unique combination
of simplicity and an enduring spirit. To many,
she has treaded where few dare to venture and
emerged successful. Her indisputable level of
credibility has kept the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission running despite the initial
calls for its dissolution.
Nyaundi is a unique woman holding a position that Kenyans have come to perceive as a
preserve for men. Out of all the commissions
that have been set up by the current government, the TJRC is the only that has a woman as
chief executive officer.
And although her current posting at TJRC
has turned out to be the most eventful and challenging, sheer hard work and determination
have sustained the momentum at the Commission which initially suffered a credibility test that
saw senior officials resign in a huff.
Leadership
As Kenyans mark Labour Day, the ghost of
affirmative action hangs over its head as women
seek to have at least one third if not equal share
in leadership and decision making positions.
“One of the struggles for women has been
access to political leadership and decision making positions in the country. However quests for
affirmative action have not succeeded, as bills
previously sent to parliament have not sailed
through,” she adds.
But with the new dawn, women can practically ascend to any position of power. “The
new constitution is livid with overarching gains
which if fully exploited will propel more women
to leadership positions,” she adds.
“Article 56 places an obligation to the state
to put in place affirmative action programmes to
ensure that minorities and marginalized groups
participate and are represented in governance
and other spheres of life; are provided special opportunities in educational and economic fields;
are provided special opportunities for access to
employment; have reasonable access to water,
health services and infrastructure,” she explains.
But the struggle has just begun. “We must
push to see that this is reflected even in the ongoing appointments whether in the judiciary or
the commissions envisaged in the constitution
and we seemingly hope that scenarios where
declarations and policies have previously been
used to undermine the elevation of women to
their rightful positions in the society will remain
buried in the past,” she affirms.
Nyaundi says that women have for decades
remained under represented with the highest
decision making organ having only a negligible representation of women and similarly low
numbers in other positions.
She is however upbeat that the new constitution will propel more women to leadership positions, increase their access to health services,
property and address any disadvantages suffered
as a result of discrimination.
Women representation in the National Assembly is set to go up. Forty Seven women will
be elected from the counties with an additional
six being nominated by their respective political
parties. An additional sixteen women are to be
nominated by political parties join the Senate in
accordance with article 90.
She therefor says that women must strive to
safeguard their gains in the constitution by taking up the leadership positions that have been
provided for.
However Nyaundi lays emphasis on the notion that most of these legislations will remain
elusive if such policies and laws are not effected.
She says that provisions in the constitution must
also be actualized to enable them take advantage
of opportunities brought about by the new dispensation,” she says
Nyaundi begun her legal career as a State
Counsel. She also worked for a short stint with
the Kerio Valley Development Authority. Soon
she was working around children’s rights issues
and found her way in the middle of advocating
for women’s rights.
Nyaundi joined the Federation of Women
Lawyers (FIDA) in 2006 where she served as Executive Director until 2010 when she joined TJRC.
“At FIDA I was able to horn my ethical
skills and rub shoulders with ardent women’s
rights crusaders in the country such as Njoki
Ndung’u, Atsango Chesoni, Phoebe Asiyo and
Ann Njogu,” says Nyaundi. “Today I remain
firmly grounded to the ideals we espoused,”
she recounts during an interview with the Kenyan Woman.
“Together we became part of a process that
brought women’s issues to the public limelight.
We later rallied behind the G10 movement which
has been instrumental to the women’s gains as espoused in the new constitution,” she explains.
Today, Nyaundi celebrates that affirmative
action has been entrenched in the Constitution
and guarantees equal opportunities for everyone irrespective of gender.
“So far, women have made major strides and
although we are not where we are supposed to
be, the playing field has been levelled. No public
appointment shall be made without due regard
to the gender perspective,” she says.
Nyaundi cites the controversial nominations of Chief Justice, Attorney General and
Director of Public Prosecution by President
Kibaki which were nullified shortly after they
were announced mainly for defying constitutional guidelines.
“This gives opportunity for optimism and
is an indication of the bright days ahead of us. I
commend that G10 movement for having successfully contested the appointments in court,”
she reiterates.
However, she observes that chances of regression are high if women do not push for
legislations that actuate the gains made in the
Constitution.
Initiative
“We cannot afford to sit on our laurels and
say that we have the Bill of Rights which is explicit and allows women to confer citizenship,
protects them from all forms of violence and expressly guarantees basic necessities such as food,
housing and shelter which were previously considered as major hurdles. We must now forge
ahead to make this a reality,” she reiterates.
Nyaundi urges that women must work hard
to safeguard the gains already made in the Constitution. “They must lobby for inclusion at all
levels and make sure they get their share in all
public appointments,” she intones.
As we mark this year’s Labour Day celebrations, Nyaundi says women must celebrate their
enormous contribution to the hidden labour
which despite being relegated to the periphery
accounts for a substantive proportion of both
social and economic contribution.
“The meals we cook, clothes we wash, farms
we till, water we fetch, the child who comes home
and knows there is someone to call a mother . . .
. all these are innumerable contributions which
have deliberately been ignored,” she laments.
Nyaundi will be celebrating the invisible labour by women which hardly receives any attention, is never accorded any title but accounts a
lot to the well being of the society.
She will also be celebrating major milestones
Patricia Nyaundi, CEO of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). Picture:
Kenyan Woman Correspondent.
made by women in senior positions and singles
out Justice Joyce Aluoch who is sitting at the
International Criminal Court, Olive Mugenda
who is the Vice Chancellor at Kenyatta University and Betty Maina who is the Chief Executive
Officer Kenya Association of Manufacturers as
some of the few women who have remained at
the top of their career fields in the mainly male
dominated arena.
“We must also remember other women who
fiercely fought for the inclusion of women rights
during the pre-colonial era. Our primary loyalty
goes to them as we too are beneficiaries of what
they relentlessly advocated for,” she says
On her role at the TJRC, Nyaundi prides
herself for being part of a process that crafted
the path for the Commission as it has waded
through murky waters.
“We refused to relent to public pressure
“So far, women have made major strides and although we are
not where we are supposed to be, the playing field has been
levelled. No public appointment shall be made without due
regard to the gender perspective.”
— Patricia Nyaundi, CEO of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC)
mainly because we knew that the same people
were not opposed to the Commission per se. We
were also persuaded into believing that we were
equal to the task ahead and at no time did we
doubt our capacity to deliver the mandate of the
Commission.”
Despite all odds the Commission has remained focused and truthful to the assignment
at hand.
“Already we have collected close to 30,000
statements during hearings held in different
parts of the country. “The Commission has also
opened up to groups that have traditionally been
locked out and managed to receive about 600
memoranda with women from different parts
of the country accounting for 42 percent of the
respondents,” she says during an interview with
The Kenyan Woman.
“I find impossibilities appealing. I love challenges and this has solidified my resolve to push
ahead. Partly this is what keeps me going.”
Nyaundi draws much of her strength from
her spiritual beliefs and says that the Lord has
held her hand and walked with her through the
many challenges.
She says that the Commission plans to resume its hearings in September and run up to
November after which they will prepare their
recommendations.
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Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Political wrangles
delay enactment of
women friendly bills
…By Musa Radoli
O
n January 3, the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution
was sworn in setting the
motion rolling for the implementation of a Constitution that Kenyans
have fought tooth and nail for. While
Kenyans who voted overwhelmingly
in support of the new law thought that
the implementation process would be
easy sailing and immediate, this has
not been the case.
Persistent bickering and acrimonious confrontations between political
class has adversely affected the debate
and legislation of the Bill of Rights.
Political differences in the two
parties – PNU and ODM –that make
up the coalition government have
continued to undermine enactment
of critical legislation.
Concerns
These concerns have been voiced by
gender equality advocates who are now
seeking ways to ensure that these bills
are debated and enacted in line with the
new constitutional dispensation.
It is perhaps from this background
that the First Lady, Mrs Lucy Kibaki
on the International Women’s Day
asked the wrangling MPs to pass bills
that will protect the rights and welfare
of the girl child and women of Kenya.
Lucy, is among gender equality advocates who have distinguished themselves ensuring that affirmative action
is entrenched in law. The First Lady
observed that the most critical gender
rights bills that are supposed to have
been passed and enacted in line with
the new constitution are still pending.
“Though I acknowledge the fact
that the Ninth and Tenth parliaments
have in the recent past been active in
enacting legislation to curtail harmful
practices against women in the coun-
try, it is of great concern that some of
the bills that could decisively eliminate existing discrimination against
women are still pending,” she said.
The Family Protection Bill 2009,
Marriage Bill 2009 and Matrimonial
Property Bill 2009 are some of the new
laws enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
She urged parliamentarians, particularly women legislators to push for the
enactment of the bills that will not only
protect the girl child but also women.
Justice
The First Lady appealed to Kenyans to help eliminate vices such as
rape, child molestation, child trafficking and violence against women as
they erode dignity and self respect.
Her sentiments have been echoed
by civil society organisations which
have raised concerns at the slow pace
by which Parliament was taking in
enacting the new laws.
The process which effectively begun after the promulgation of the
document on August 27, last year, has
seen less than five pieces of legislation
crafted by the Attorney General’s office for Parliament to enact.
About 700 pieces of legislation are
to be crafted and enacted into law to
effectively oversee a smooth constitutional implementation process.
The process which is supposed to
undergo a five year transition period
has among its priority pieces of legislations the bills that encompass women’s gains and these are to be found in
the Bill of Rights.
The First Lady blamed female
genital mutilation, early marriages,
low girl child education, HIV/Aids,
economic empowerment, equitable
distribution of leadership and decision making positions as well as child
labour for hindering the smooth development of the girl child and gender
equity in the country.
During a recent meeting by the
Parliament in session. Delays in enacting the new law have been blamed on political intrigues and differences
within the august House. Picture: Kenyan Woman Correspondent
United Nations Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW) in Switzerland,
Kenya was on the spot for not taking
a leading role in stopping violation of
women’s rights in areas such as housing, land and property rights.
It also faced serious queries on the
Government’s and Legislature’s commitment to address the issue of poor
urban planning including the case for
internally displaced women.
Implementation
“The government is taking too
long to pass and implement critical
laws such as the Equality Bill and the
Family Protection Bill that protect
the rights of women,” said Ms Claris
Oganga, Deputy Executive Director
Fida Kenya.
Oganga noted that the slow pace
around the crucial bills has greatly
contributed to the continuing discrim-
ination and violation against women’s
rights and this is in complete violation
of the same rights that have been entrenched in the new constitution.
She said: “Although something
little has been achieved in terms of
women’s land and property rights, a
lot more needs to be done.”
Oganga gave accolades to the National Land Policy as being progressive but added it needs to be broken
down into various legislations like the
Law of Succession.
“There is no law that deals with
married women’s property rights
yet the National Land Policy under
matrimonial property recognises,”
explained Oganga. She added: “Yet
existing laws and practices governing
matrimonial property discriminate
against spouses whose contribution
to the acquisition of that property is
indirect and not capable of being valued properly in monetary terms.”
The Minister for Gender, Children
and Social Development, Dr Naomi
Shabaan reiterated that Kenyan women continue to face discrimination
with the delay in the enactment of
several crucial gender sensitive bills.
“The bills touching on Marriage,
Matrimonial Property, Family Protection and Equal Opportunities have
been developed by the Government
and are due to be considered for debate
by Parliament,” explained Shabaan.
She noted that implementation
of the new constitution to which the
gender rights bills are crucial will be
a landmark achievement for women
right from leadership and decision
making opportunities all the way to
matters pertaining to rights to own,
inherit and control property.
“The bills are expected to change
all spheres of the Kenyan women’s
lives as well as the rest of the country’s
populace,” Shabaan observed.
Gender agenda remains at an impasse as years move on
…By Joyce Chimbi
I
n spite of the hardships and challenges that
women continue to face, Labour Day presents another opportunity for women to assess how far they have come in accessing
resources and opportunities.
We, therefore, celebrate the 22 female Members of Parliament, we celebrate women athletes
who have been winning medals and money and
we celebrate women who have been appointed to
major international jobs like Lady Justice Joyce
Aluoch of International Criminal Courts (ICC).
Progress
However, in spite of these remarkable strides,
“it is unfortunate that as the calendar continues
to turn, the situation for the Kenyan woman has
remained largely the same”. This is according to
the Minister for Special Programmes, Ms Esther
Murugi.
The situation has remained largely the same as
the gender agenda has not changed since the first
ever world women’s conference of Mexico in 1975.
The 1975 conference, which coincided with
the International Women’s Year, aimed at sending a message that women all over the world
continued to be regarded as the weaker sex and
Politics remains a dangerously
hostile arena for women
although we surpass men
by far when it comes to the
number of female votes yet we
cannot seem to translate these
numbers into reality, it begs the
question, are we (women) our
worst enemies?”
— Hon. Esther Murugi
Minister for Special Programmes
were being discriminated.
The conference was a platform on which a
massive effort to provoke international agenda
on gender equality was launched. It was this
Conference that ushered in the United Nation’s
Decade for Women which ran from 1976-1985.
“In light of all these conferences and gender
talks that have span over decades, I am still saddened by the fact that the gender agenda has not
translated into tangible benefits particularly for
the Kenyan women,” explains Murugi.
She observes: “Politics remains a dangerously hostile arena for women although we surpass
men by far when it comes to the number of female votes yet we cannot seem to translate these
numbers into reality, it begs the question, are we
(women) our worst enemies?”
Although the political arena remains largely
unwelcoming to women, the education sector
has broken a few barriers in its efforts to educate
the girl child.
“We have managed to penetrate communities that previously saw no significance in educating the girl child by about 90 per cent,” observes Murugi.
“We are now implementing the ‘Return to
School’ programme that gives female students
an opportunity to complete education even after getting pregnant. We have lowered the uni-
versity entry for girls by one point and all these
efforts have contributed to the girl child’s excellence in academics,” she reiterates.
These initiatives have seen girls in Kenya
make commendable progress and proceeded to
achieve academic excellence previously almost
exclusively left for men.
Key positions
Although the implication and benefits that
come with educating the girl child are immense,
it is no substitute to the fact that decision making positions continue to elude women.
“I get the impression that we generally have
not made the cause-effect relationship between
women being in position of influence — decision makers at all levels — and translating the
gender agenda into a reality,” observes Murugi.
She adds: “For as long as women continue to
form the minority of decision makers, the calendar will continue to turn, the gender agenda
table will slowly turn to a day when we come
together to grumble about issues that make
life unbearable for women as opposed to what
is should be — a platform to steer progress towards gender equality.”
Continued on page 6
5
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Labour movement proves
to be a hard nut to crack
…By Wanjiku Mwaura
J
acinta Nyamacho works as a
cleaner in one of the companies
in Nairobi. Like every Kenyan,
the high cost of living has put
her family on the edge. Although she
is not a member, she hopes the call to
Government by the Central Organisation of Trade Unions to enforce a
minimum salary hike of 60 per cent
will be implemented.
Her employment contract, which
she barely understands, does not allow
her to be in a union. She is among thousands of Kenyan women who form the
bulk of the formal sector, though in
lower cadre jobs and yet have little avenues to discuss their welfare.
Even for those in unions like Valerie Kamunde, ‘there is little that I get
out of it. I pay membership fee and
that is as far as my contact with my
union goes’.
Decision making
“A lot of decisions are made and
I get to hear them on radio or see the
leaders on TV,” she says.
This, according to former Funyula
MP and chairperson of Labour Party
of Kenya, Dr Julia Ojiambo is reflective of the nature of present trade
unions and by extension the politics.
“Labour movements and trade
unions are about workers’ rights and
welfare; few people feel like they are
getting that. Women especially feel
alienated because of the way most of
the trade unions operate,” she says.
The Central Organisation of Trade
Unions (Cotu), which boasts over 1.5
million members has only one woman as deputy treasurer and none at the
executive board.
Ironically, COTU’s motto is ‘promoting the Social, Economic, Political and other Interests of the Kenyan
Workers’, a bulk of which are women.
Since its establishment in 1965 during the radical era of Tom Mboya, the
organisation has never had a woman
holding a key position.
COTU’s structure and operations
are also replicated in other giant organisations like the Kenya Union of
Teachers, Union of Kenya Civil Servants, Kenya Union of Commercial
Food and Allied Workers Union,
Tailors and Textiles Workers Union
among others that have few or no
women at the helm.
For example, KNUT where major-
ity of the members are female teachers
has no women at the top position.
According to human rights lawyer, Ms Monica Mbaru, the history of
the formation of labour movements
and trade unions has made it difficult
for women to be at the helm.
Welfare
“Looking back at the time of
Mboya, trade unions looked at workers’ welfare in a more comprehensive
way. That is why they also agitated
for independence. Things were more
confrontational and women shied
away from confrontations,” she says.
Mbaru says trade unions have not
shed the image of confrontation and are
viewed as platforms to political careers.
“This has made it easy to keep
women out of decision making because even culturally vocal women are
viewed as trouble makers,” she says.
Ojiambo echoes these views saying that ‘playing safe’ has left women
vulnerable.
“If you look at COTU and KNUT,
most of the images we get are those
of confrontation. A female teacher
would rather concentrate on her profession than union matters,” she says.
Trade unionists are often seen as
combative and sometimes lacking in
decorum, this according to Mbaru is
not favourable for women.
Report
According to a UN women report
2009, Kenya remains one of the countries where women have not made
significant noticeable progress in representation, let alone participation
in all sectors of development since
achieving independence.
For example, the report says: “Although the total workforce of women
in Local Government are 33.7 per cent
of the workforce, only 10.2 per cent of
top management including heads of departments. Majority of women employees (97.7 percent) in local authorities
are low level staff working as sweepers
in offices, markets and revenue collectors in bus-parks and markets.”
The report notes that although the
one-third for political parties’ representation in Kenya exists, the extent of
women participation is difficult due to
non-implementation of this provision
despite the fact that women’s organisations have lobbied for its implementation. As a result, there is unnoticeable
impact on government bodies in terms
Women in a procession at Mombasa Municipal Council grounds during
celebrations to mark Labour Day. Women are members of many labour
movements but they have failed to penetrate the helm of decision making.
Picture: Kenyan Woman Correspondent.
necessary.
It is hoped Affirmative Action or
the requirement that a third of any
leadership be women under the new
Constitution will change the underrepresentation of women in trade and
labour movements.
Marginalization
“Despite being
50 percent of the
population, women’s
needs are rarely
reflected in the overall
national policy because
they do not feature in
key decision making
positions that distribute
power and resources
nationally.”
—Njoki Ndung’u
of policies, laws and regulations.
For example, the issue of maternity leave, which also had paternity
leave included, was a bruising legal battle because none of the trade
unions pushed for it or thought it was
According to Ms Njoki Ndung’u,
who was a member of the Committee
of Experts that drafted the new constitution, Kenyan women to this point
have been treated as second class citizens — the largest historically marginalised group in Kenya.
“Despite being 50 percent of the
population, women’s needs are rarely
reflected in the overall national policy
because they do not feature in key decision making positions that distribute power and resources nationally,”
says Ndung’u.
“With the new Constitution, this will
change because there are over 40 benefits
ranging from simple gender-neutral language to those that are life-changing, like
the non-discrimination clause outlawing
bias on the basis of sex, pregnancy or
marital status,” she observes.
While Ojiambo hails the new
Constitution, she says it will take
much more than legislations to get
more women to decision making positions in labour movements.
“It is a matter of civic education,
women need to know their rights.
They need to understand how their
welfare affects their general wellbeing,” she says.
Ojiambo is of the opinion that if
women workers do not understand
how their welfare is intertwined with
representation in unions, then little
may change.
Macharia Munene, a professor of
history at USIU says that though the
Affirmative Action may move many
women up the leadership ladder, locally women must be willing to take
up those positions.
A women’s leader at the grassroots
in Nyeri, Ms Wangu Mwai says the
new Constitution has given women a
mileage but it must be enforced strictly
if women are to benefit. She also agrees
that civic education is necessary.
“Women need to understand their
rights as employees and what the
Constitution guarantees them, that
way they can feel the need to be active in trade unions and labour movements,” she says.
A Professor at the University of Nairobi says: “The Affirmative Action may
put women in key decision making places but will they be people of integrity?”
She says, if not well guarded, the
Affirmative Action may be one way to
continue cronyism and mediocrity in
trade and labour unions.
However, she reiterates that civic
education, is necessary. “We do not
want to look back and see that equal
and quality representation that women have wanted for so long was never
achieved,” she says.
The Affirmative Action is a double
edged sword, she says, we must handle it with care.
Little to celebrate for working in the informal sector
…By Samwel Kipsang
W
hen Standard Eight class at Kitoloswoni Primary School in
Narok South were sitting for their
Kenya Certificate of Primary Examinations (KCPE) exams, Nancy Cherotich, a
Standard Five pupil saw an opportunity to make
money since the rest of the school was going to
be away.
Opportunity
“I went into the business of harvesting sand
and I made a lot of money,” says Cherotich.
Cherotich was not alone in this. Many girls,
majority from poor families viewed an opportunity to be away from school as the time to throw
away their books for an assortment of odd manual jobs. This led them to neglect their studies
and compromise their moral lives.
Cherotich’s excitement is deceptive since one
may think the work is light, enjoyable and well
paying. Sand harvesting especially at Ngaram,
where she works is hard. It involves hitting rocks
to produce sand which is then sieved to enable
one get quality product.
As we celebrate Labour Day, girls and women who work in the informal sector earn very
little unlike their counterparts in the formal sector who are represented by unions. As per children rights and labour law, these girls harvesting
sand are suppose to be in school or playing with
other children.
On a normal day, Cherotich harvests four
wheelbarrows of sand, and earns a dollar. Her
parents and sister also harvest sand. Everyone in
the family then has a day when they are responsible for buying food, Cherotich included.
Having bought food, whatever little money is left
the girls spend on clothes, soaps and body lotions.
Cherotich’s father has neglected his responsibilities. He does not buy anything for the family, and occasionally when he gives some little
money towards fees, he demands the money
back within 24 hours. If he is not given, he beats
and throws everyone out.
Innovation
Cherotich and her sister are lucky they are
still in school. Most of the girls in the sand harvesting business have dropped out. Some of
them are already deep into prostitution.
The sudden upsurge of young, brilliant, assertive and innovative women in various professions and academic may create a perception that
the gender divide is getting thinner. Despite affirmative action being enacted in law and other
statutes, the divide remains wide. More girls and
women across rural Kenya, work daily in rough,
hard, hazardous and less paying manual jobs.
Experts in human rights and civil society organisations would like to see more help coming
out to the girls and women in the informal sector.
Few girls who do the many varied manual
jobs would proceed for their secondary education.
Many drop out of school early before they can sit
for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education.
Due to poverty, millions of girls in sub-Saharan Africa, just like Cherotich are preoccupied
with what wou8ld normally worry adults. They
are the sole bread winners and even have to work
hard to ensure they do not walk around naked.
Children in the sand business at Ngaram
among other places are aged 12-15. Majority
of women engaged in the business are aged between 25 to 40 years. It is never a surprise to see
women of about 60 years joining in sand harvesting.
6
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Women unveil leadership potential
…By Omondi Gwengi
A
s veteran politicians and
new political entrants lay
the groundwork for what
promises to be big political
contest across the country in preparation for the next General Election,
women from Bondo and Kisumu
West districts are also laying down
their strategies to occupy positions
created by the new constitution. This
is encouraging particularly within
the women ‘s movement and towards
gender equality.
Back in their minds the women
are also planning to step forward and
occupy the hall of fame by following
into the footsteps of the pioneer legislators like Mrs Grace Onyango, Mrs
Grace Ogot and Dr Phoebe Asiyo.
Leadership
During the unveiling of the database of women leaders from Bondo
and Kisumu West districts, Prof Emily Akuno of Maseno University noted
that the era of discrimination against
women is gone.
“Women have been weeping and
a time has come that we need to wipe
off our tears in order to see clearly
where we are headed to,” said Akuno.
During a ceremony that was organized to crown Dr Phoebe Asiyo,
Akuno said that men who hinder
women’s development and growth
are not men enough as they are suffering from self ego.
“In the traditional African context, a man was defined by how well
he cared for his wife and daughters,”
she reiterated.
Empowerment
Akuno observed that the best way
to empower women is through educating the daughters to enable them
compete favourably with the men.
Speaking at the same forum, the
Executive Director of Community
Aid International (CAI), Mr Joseph
Kwaka reiterated that the African society has been the greatest enemy of
our women.
“We have individuals of good
values and principles who can lead
this nation but they have been short
changed by the society they live in,”
explained Kwaka.
A report from CAI indicates that
the international conventions such as
the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Right (ICCPR), International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and,
the Convention of Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) have not translated
into any significant changes
for the majority of women in
Kenya or in the push for good
governance.
Governance
However, through the establishment of Gender and
Governance
Programme
(GGP) there have been positive
change towards women’s leaders in Bondo and Kisumu West
districts.
“We have been concentrating on recruiting male and
female advocates to campaign
on GGP. Through GGP, many
women have been included
in boards of governors committee as well as water boards
among other institutions,” explained Kwaka.
According to reports from
Bondo District Education office,
girls’ schools performed better
compared to the past and their
enrolment also shot up.
Bondo District Education
Officer, Mr Bicker Lunyangi
said that apart from 2009, no
girl has ever gotten grade A
(plain) in KCSE.
“Girls only need to be appreciated and encouraged as
education of girls is crucial in
changing the world,” advised
Lunyangi.
Unveiling the database,
Bondo District Commissioner, Mr Mohammed Salim observed that Nyanza has invested a lot in education compared
to other regions. He acknowledged that by having the data
bank, it will be easy to recruit
women in various positions in
the district.
“We always advertise for
positions in various departments but a few women turn
up. It is, therefore, going to be
easy to pick women on various
positions by looking at the data-
Mrs Anne Adul (left), Prof Emily Akuno (center) and Mrs Pamella Oluoch hold
a copy of the women’s leaders’ database after it was unveiled at the Community
Aid International in Bondo. Inset: Mr Joseph Kwaka, Executive Director
Community Aid International. Pictures: Omondi Gwengi
“We have been
concentrating on recruiting
male and female advocates
to campaign on GGP.
Through GGP, many
women have been included
in boards of governors
committee as well as
water boards among other
institutions
— Joseph Kwaka, Executive Director
Community Aid International
bank,” said Salim.
The DC challenged women to
change their attitude towards leadership
and start competing in elective offices.
During the meeting participants
agreed that through election citizens
have the right to getting good leaders.
The meeting also underscored the
role of civic education in scrutinising
leaders before going to the ballot.
Strategising
Due to the frustrations by the public in regard to the implementation of
the new constitution, it noted that it
was high time citizens came up with
strategies to push for the speedy implementation of the whole process.
“The use of peaceful demonstrations as well as lobbying citizens
through civic education needs to be
inculcated,” reiterated Mrs Pamella
Oluoch, secretary Maendeleo ya Wanawake, Bondo.
“Let’s go for the more than one
third as provided in the constitution.
We should not settle for tokens, but
instead work extra hard by exercising
our right to acquire the positions of
leadership in this country,” explained
Oluoch.
Gender and Governance Programme which has run for the
last four years trained women aspirants in 2007 by building their
capacity as political candidates.
After the election, CAI embarked
on advocacy for good governance,
gender equality and human right
programme.
Gender agenda remains at an impasse many years later
from page 4
Murugi reiterates that issues such as gender
based violence continue to afflict women. Rape
is the second most reported crime and HIV/
Aids has continued to take the face of the Kenyan
woman with the latest statistics by the Kenya Aids
Indicator Survey (KAIS) showing that out of every five HIV infected people, three are women.
In Kenya, an estimated 43 percent of married women face sexual and physical violence
from their partners which increases their vulnerability to HIV.
For most women, therefore, the state of their
health is largely determined by the morals of
their partners.
“Among youths aged between 15 to 24 years,
women are four times more likely to be infected
with HIV than men,” expounds Dr Nduku Ki-
lonzo, Executive Director of Liverpool VCT,
Hurlingham.
“Furthermore, the burden of care regarding
HIV/Aids continues to be the woman’s responsibility. Whether you are talking about infection, treatment or care, no one is more pressed than the woman where HIV is concerned,” observes Kilonzi.
In 2007, 452,800 HIV positive individuals
also suffering from tuberculosis were receiving
care and support under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Challenges
Kilonzo emphasises that the responsibility of
care and support for those living with HIV is a
challenge many women continue to face. HIV
treatment and care, as well as home-based care
programmes that are gender sensitive have not
been put in place.
The statistics further show that out of every
10 pregnant women, one is HIV positive. Since
2003, 121,600 women have been receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis under the Preventing Mother
to Child Transmission Programme (PMTC).
“Gender strategic investment in the form of
gender responsive initiatives have never been
more urgent and these are some of the glaring
challenges facing women that lead us to including the aspect of care giving in this year’s theme
for the International Women’s Day,” explains
Murugi.
“The fight against HIV/Aids and gender
based violence requires that national programmes address underlying gender inequalities, particularly the aspect of equal sharing of
responsibilities between men and women.”
The push for equal sharing of responsibility between men and women is an attempt to
push the gender equality agenda to highlight the
overwhelming situation for women caring for
those living with HIV/Aids.
Murugi says stakeholders must address
harmful gender norms and stereotypes which
have continued to turn the Kenyan Woman as
the breadwinner and care giver in the family, yet
denying her the opportunity to be present at the
decision making table.
Whether this year’s day to celebrate women in Kenya and the world at large turns the
tide and provokes a gender mainstreaming
that will lead to the achievement of this year’s
theme and by extension the advancement of
women in all sectors of development remains
to be seen.
For now, it remains clear that the Kenyan
woman has waited far too long for tangible
change.
7
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Call for enhanced response to
gender based crimes
…By Mercy Mumo
S
ince time immemorial, women have been advocating for
prosecutions in gender based
crimes. The Rome statute recognises rape, sexual slavery, forced
pregnancy, enforced prostitution
and enforced sterilisation among
other forms of sexual violence as war
crimes in international and non-international armed conflict as well as
crimes against humanity.
The government has been challenged to adopt laws from the International Criminal Court that seek
to protect the rights of women, and
adopt such legislation to cover crimes
committed against women during
times of conflict.
Accountability
During a meeting on accountability for gender-based crimes through
the ICC and domestic prosecution
within the Kenyan legal process by
the Women’s Initiative for Gender
Justice (WIGJ), the Executive Director, Ms Brigid Inder pointed out the
need to have gender advocates in the
justice process for victims of gender
based crimes.
“Reparation mechanisms need
to be put in place to ensure that we
work closely with women affected by
armed conflicts in helping them get
justice,” reiterated Inder.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was ratified
on March 15, 2005 in Kenya, bringing the total number of states that are
party to the statute to 114. The Statute
states that the interpretation of law
must be without diverse distinction
of the basis of enumerated ground
including gender.
According to the Gender Report
Card on the International Criminal
Court 2010, the Women’s court was
formed to draw attention to the particular harms women and girls experience during armed conflict and to
promote greater attention to these
crimes by the International Criminal
Court (ICC) and national authorities. The same report also notes that
national accountability processes and
their compliance with international
justice standards are necessary if
prosecutions are to act as a deterrent
to the future commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
Development
The provision of the Rome statute is a key development in Kenya’s
law especially in recognizing gender
crimes. The statute includes a provision that enables the court to award
reparations to or in respect of victims
including compensation, restitution
and rehabilitation.
Problems of not defining gender
wars properly have been either characterised wrongly, underrepresented,
ignored or not recognised at all. Inadequate treatment of the victims of
sexual slavery has led to an unsatisfactory situation.
According to the Gender Mainstreaming Perspective Study by the
African Woman and Child Feature
Service, women and girls were at
higher risk of sexual and genderbased violence in most internal displacement camps. Such was the case
of gender-based violence faced by
women following the bungled 2007
presidential elections in Kenya.
Thousands of women, girls and
men experienced some form of sexual violence during the post election
violence (PEV). It is reported that
over 3,000 cases of rape were reported from all over the country. None of
the perpetrators have been brought to
justice thus making the battle against
the culture of impunity a prolonged
and tedious one.
According to Ms Betty Murungi,
a human rights lawyer and former vice
chair of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), accountability is key in the search for justice.
“People need the assurance that
perpetrators can be held accountable
for the crimes they commit and prosecuted locally,” observes Murungi.
She adds: “This will expand the basis
of rights that women can access justice for whatever crime.
Broadening the variety of the way to
deal with crimes against women is also
an option that needs to be explored. As
a country, we still have the opportunity
to advance and restructure our criminal laws and justice system.
Security
Several treaties such as the UN
Security Council resolution 1325, the
Windhoek Declaration, General Recommendation No. 19 of CEDAW, the
UN declaration on the elimination of
violence against women, the Geneva
conventions among others have been
ratified to address the rights of women and children and the abuses they
may face during conflict.
Gender based crimes can be represented in the current laws and the
ICC process through the various
commissions that have been set up
as they already have existing gender
components in them.
Murungi gives an example in
dealing with the marginalization of
women’s issues. “The Truth Justice
and Reconciliation Commission
while taking statements across the
country should be able to bring accountability to the fore. The National
Cohesion and Integration Commission should ensure that women’s concerns are taken up urgently.”
Murungi notes that the ICC is
there to only complement the local
systems and not to take over the judiciary process. “Kenya is not a failed
state therefore the ICC cannot take
over our cases,” she reiterates.
Proposed bills that take into account women’s rights can also be
adopted as a step to attaining justice.
The ICC should only see itself as
supplementing the process of the local courts and can only be turned to
as a last resort when the local judicial
mechanisms fail to deliver justice.
Using local judicial mechanisms
to pursue alleged crimes against
women before and after the post
election violence should be highly
encouraged.
“We advocate for the strengthening of the local judicial systems in
order to deliver justice to the victims.
We already have the Supreme Court,
the High Court and Court of Appeal
in place. These are capable bodies
with the right mechanisms in place,”
says Murungi.
The deputy Executive Director of
the Centre for Education and Awareness Creation (CREAW), Mr Michael
Deputy Executive Director at CREAW, Mr Michael Wachira puts out a
point during a press briefing on how civil society handled gender based
violence issues in the post election violence during a meeting organized
by Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice, which wants GBV issues
handled at the international Criminal Court. On the far left is Ms Brigid
Winder, Executive Director Women’s Initiative for Gender Justice. Picture:
Kenyan Woman correspondent
“The Truth Justice
and Reconciliation
Commission while taking
statements across the
country should be able
to bring accountability
to the fore. The
National Cohesion and
Integration Commission
should ensure that
women’s concerns are
taken up urgently.”
— Betty Murugi
Human Rights Lawyer
Wachira admitted that sexual violence has not been given the seriousness it deserves.
CREAW was able to conduct an
audio visual research on violence
against women during the post election violence. “A lot of gang rape cases, sexual exploitation by state agents,
in camps by humanitarian workers
and other sexual related cases were
reported,” says Wachira.
The research findings bring out
strongly the urgency of dealing with
sexual violence in a conflict situa-
tion. It is evident that violence did
not commence with the last general
election. Every successive election
has been characterised by some form
of violence. Measures to respond and
mitigate issues of sexual violence
need to have been in place yesterday.
“It is only fair for the victims that
we reform the local judicial systems to
deal with the injustices because these
are issues from within. Budgetary allocations have also to be made including counselling,” observes Wachira.
The Sexual Offenses Act has stiff
penalties for sexual related offences
but does not deal with sexual violence
in a conflict situation. The penal code
has a clause on how reparations are
going to be dealt with.
Wachira notes that the media has
a big role to play in being vigilant in
how the commissions will conduct
their research and findings and giving the pieces of legislation teeth in
order to work and provide justice.
“The situation needs to be given seriousness in dealing with the gross
violation of human rights,” reiterates
Wachira.
As far as reparations go, this can
only happen when the first case is
completed. The trust fund which is
associated with the ICC has a mandate to provide rehabilitation (mentally and physically) for the victims
of PEV.
“Court ordered reparations will
only take place after the first case is
concluded which will be the end of
this year,” says Murungi.
Getting reparations for women’s
violation of human rights and mass
victimisation might be a challenge.
The United Nations Principles on
the Right to Remedy and Reparation
states that Victims should be treated
with humanity and respect for their
dignity and human rights, and appropriate measures should be taken
to ensure their safety, physical and
psychological well-being and privacy,
as well as those of their families.
Enhancing local legal mechanisms
in ensuring that victims access justice
will be more meaningful and will give
them assurance that sexual violence
is punishable therefore having more
women come out in the open to talk
about their experiences. This will be
a major benchmark in developing
policies which relate to gender based
crimes among women and other marginalized groups and adopting effective response mechanisms.
Legislation
Having strong and accountable judicial institutions and firm legislative
measures will reduces cases of vetting
malpractices, allegations of corruption
thus assuring Kenyans that reparations can be carried out in transparency without doubts of manipulation
or fear of being tampered with.
Many victims of sexual violence
fail to seek redress for fear of reprisal
attacks and stigma from family and
the society at large. Women need to
be involved in peace building initiatives to enable them to open up and
feel safe even to talk about and iron
out issues that are key to them. A
conducive and friendly environment
would be appropriate for women to
feel at ease and open up.
Court rooms can be intimidating to the victims of sexual violence.
“More often than not, women find it
hard to come forward and talk about
their experiences because the environment in the court rooms is intimidating. This makes it hard in collecting evidence,” says Murungi.
8
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Justice eludes women of Africa
as sexual violence reigns
…By Mercy Mumo
T
he high illiteracy rate among
African women plays a major role in hindering their
quest for justice in crimes
that violate their rights as they remain
targets of sexual violence particularly
in times of conflict.
States like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Liberia,
Sierra Leone and the Central African
Republic have had their fair share of
gender injustices.
In 2002, rape and sexual violence
became an instrument of war to decimate entire communities. Women
were tortured, killed and in some
instances buried alive. The war resulted in sexual exploitation by armed
groups manning specific territories of
the country. Many young girls ended
up being sexual slaves.
Vulnerability
Rwandan rebels were reported
to have killed expectant women and
extracted foetuses from their wombs.
In some districts in the western provinces, armed men took advantage of
vulnerable women. Their lips, ears
and genitals remain scared from mutilation.
According to Ms Stella Yanda of
Initiatives Alpha in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, since 1996, the
country has registered a number of
wars ranging from civil wars, aggression and war.
The types of violence experienced
takes two forms. There is the traditional violence where women are
subjugated through culture. In this
instance the woman’s body becomes
the battlefield.
“Because of war, the woman’s
body is exposed to brutal violence.
She is considered game, a play thing,”
observes Yanda.
Women continue to carry the
cross of social ignominy as a result of
impunity. The perpetrators involved
in these heinous acts have gone unpunished due to impunity. The authors of these atrocities include the
Hutu rebels, soldiers of the armed
forces in DRC, internal armed groups,
mayi mayi armed group, prison warders and even civilians. These militant
groups turned against women.
Violence
Yanda observes that there have
been a number of changes that have
led to reduction of sexual violence
against women. Emphasis by the
United Nations secretary general, the
International Criminal Court prosecutor and the enactment of a law
against sexual violence have played a
big role in reduction of cases.
Some of the authors of the atrocities have been prosecuted. “There has
been a lot of progress also in prosecutions. The trial of Martin Bakaka,
Thomas Lubanga, police agents in
Congo’s eastern province amongst
others on various violations of human
rights have made a mark to justice being served,” she reiterates, adding that
it is a step but not enough.
Some perpetrators remain untouchable and go unpunished. That
gap still needs to be bridged if justice
is to prevail.
In 2004, the government of Congo
requested the ICC to carry out investigations but the Judiciary was reluctant to comply. The investigations did
not bear much fruit because some of
the perpetrators are government officials. Arresting them would either
paralyse or put the country’s peace in
jeopardy. The country has no law regarding implementation of the Rome
statute.
As far as civil society organisations
are concerned, there is an urgent need
to facilitate the work of investigators. Documentation of sexual crimes
needs to be carried out.
“I am urging the government to
get rid of the shadows in their midst
for justice to take its course,” urges
Yanda.
The situation in Sudan is no different. The ICC process is crucial in
prosecuting perpetrators in Sudan.
The Women’s Initiatives for Gender
Justice (WIGJ) has been supporting
women affected by the Darfur conflict
since 2005.
“Regarding the peace talks still
taking place in Doha, WIGJ is keenly
following the talks and engaging with
partners in Darfur to ensure the effective participation of women and access to information on what is going
on with regard to peace negotiations,”
said Ms Amira Khair, WIGJ Sudan
Programme officer.
Women survivors of sexual violence from the Democratic Republic of
Congo. Many women in this country have faced war atrocities and are
the biggest victims of gender based violence. Picture: Internet
Legal provisions
The justice system in Sudan is not
friendly neither is it designed to cater
for their rights. The Sudanese criminal law does not contain legal provisions that criminalise offenses that
fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC
which include crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
Khair further expressed disappointment on behalf of the affected
communities in Darfur and in particular women and human rights and
peace activists by President Omar Al
Bashir’s visit to Kenya when Kenyans
were celebrating the new Constitution
as well as his visit to Chad despite that
both countries are state parties to the
Rome Statute.
The WIGJ is concerned with the
situation of women in Darfur and
is calling on the United Nations to
protect them. Countries that have
the Rome Statute in place are being
asked to take the necessary measures
in protecting women against sexual
violence.
Coordinator of the Youth United
for Environmental Protection and
Community Development (JUPEDEC) from the Central African Republic, Mr Alexis Mbolinani, avers
that soldiers used condoms to take
advantage of the women. The women
would be given a dollar to have sex
without using condoms, thus the very
high HIV prevalence rate. In this instance, the soldiers took advantage of
the women’s poverty to perpetuate
violence against them.
Currently, the international community is carrying out advocacy work
to highlight the plight of women who
have suffered violent attacks. Since
2008 when the Ugandan rebels took
over, the violence prevalence rate
stands at 13.7 percent.
During political related violence,
communication, transport and a lot
of abuse takes place especially in the
remote areas. Literacy levels among
“Regarding the peace
talks still taking place in
Doha, WIGJ is keenly
following the talks and
engaging with partners
in Darfur to ensure the
effective participation
of women and access to
information on what is
going on with regard to
peace negotiation.”
— Ms Amira Khair, WIGJ Sudan
Programme officer.
girls and women are quite low. There
are more than 5,000 refugees who ran
away as a result of the war.
“While fighting the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), its effects and other forces, women and children are the
most affected,” reiterates Mbolinani,
adding that those who were raped
and managed to come back home are
chased away by their community.
Internally displaced persons are
being assisted but the women have
been left out. Mbolinani says strategies need to be put in place to help
women reintegrate into the community without their being stigmatised.
“With the help of UNICEF, they
are getting help in training, building schools and resettling. However,
transporting the people even with
security is a major challenge because
they are sometimes shot at by the rebels,” explains Mbolinani.
In Liberia, when the war began in
1989, thousands of women and children were displaced. Majority of the
population fled to neighbouring Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea
to seek refuge.
Women and girls were subjected
to rape by the soldiers and ethnic
militia. Towards the end of the second civil war in 2003, there was an
upsurge in sexual violence as the war
intensified. As the fighting between
the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and
the troops of President Charles Taylor
intensified, so did the cases of sexual
violence.
Combating SGBV
To deal with the sexual violence
in Liberia, a Joint Programme was
signed between the Government of
Liberia and the United Nations. The
programme is helping address the
wide-scale sexual exploitation and
abuse cases, sexual and gender-based
violence (SGBV) through the implementation of both prevention and response measures.
A fact sheet on combating sexual
and gender based violence in Liberia
states that the Joint Programme has
been designed in line with the security and protection component of
the Government’s Poverty Reduction
Strategy (PRS). It offers a compre-
hensive and integrated approach to
reducing sexual gender based violence and is designed to support Liberia’s National GBV Plan of Action
(POA), minimising GBV by while
providing appropriate care and services to survivors.
Over two million people in Sierra
Leone were displaced by the armed
conflict that lasted 11 years and are
now refugees in neighbouring countries.
Women are stigmatized and are
not allowed to speak in their own
communities therefore making it difficult to deal with sexual gender based
violence. Due to these heinous acts,
the country continues to experience
high prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS.
Women still continue to suffer
some form of violence during their
lifetime. As of last year, out of the
more than 900 cases reported, no
convictions have been made.
Justice
The access to justice programme
by the UNDP strives to give special
attention to SGBV and also, seeks to
support the work of government institutions (FSU, the Courts, the Local
Courts, and the State Counsel) as well
as civil society in the prevention and
prosecution of SGBV cases.
It’s part of UNDP’s response in
strengthening a weak and poorly resourced justice system and improve
access to justice for vulnerable people
in Sierra Leone.
These few scenarios paint the
hopeless picture of the justice system in African countries in addressing sexual gender based violence. As
women continue to bear the brunt of
violence, justice remains elusive even
with the enactment of gender based
laws, signing of treaties and peace
accords.
9
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Still standing after
post-election hurricane
…By Joyce Chimbi
E
vents playing on the media in Kenya
are a reminder of what took place after
the 2007 elections.
The violence that gripped the country left many women and men wounded physically and psychologically.
Many do not want to be reminded of what
they went through at the time. However, there
are others who have daily reminders and for
them justice remains a mirage.
As the post-election violence ranged on
and scores of women and women were sexually
abused, a sizeable number of these women conceived and some carried the pregnancy to term.
Almost four years after the post election violence, and with another General Election looming, the women who got pregnant out of this
violence have not been able to erase the constant
reminders to the sexual abuse they suffered.
Years have gone by and everyday these children are growing and are already beginning to
conceptualise what constitutes a normal family.
Those who do not have fathers are already
raising questions as to when daddy will come
back home. These questions to which the mothers have no answer are a daily reminder of the
nightmare.
Sexual abuse
The presence of the six men charged with instigating post-election violence including sexual
abuses charges have just reopened wounds for
many women. Here is one woman’s story.
“I saw him today, he is different, scarred with
the evident weight loss, and there is a hideous
rash on his face. I look at him, our eyes meet and
I hold his gaze, I wait for him to drop his face in
shame but his face is blank, no recognition, no
remembrance, no memories. He does not recognise me, I probably look different too.
“Seeing him again brings back a flood of
memories, memories I would want to forget but
I know that I cannot.
It is the second week of January 2008, life in
Kenya has changed as violence fuelled by political differences continue to escalate.
“It is late in the evening and everyone is hoping that they will be safe behind closed doors.
Other than the regular police patrols, all is quiet
outside. As if reading my thoughts, a gun goes
off someplace but rather than instilling fear, it
reassures me there is police presence around.
“As if on cue, someone knocks repeatedly at the gate, it is a man, he is calling for my
neighbour. I shout back, informing him that
my neighbour is not home. He insists he wants
refuge. He fears that the police will harass him,
I know this man. With what is going on in the
country, I think we can shelter him, why not? In
any case, he is no stranger. I open the gate.
Trauma
“But when I open the gate, the look on his
face is that of a stranger and I immediately sense
what is going to happen next. I look towards my
children’s bedroom, I can bear it but not if any
of my little ones witness it. I lock their bedroom
door from outside as this man, well known to
me, takes me by force. I don’t cry, I can’t cry, I
can’t risk them finding out what is happening
to their mother. I struggle with every touch, I
endure, I feel nauseated and finally it is over. I
am in pain . . . I am reeling with disgust but another side of me is relieved because he is going
to leave now. And let me drown in my sorrow. It
is a small consolation.
“But he doesn’t leave, not yet. I pray again. I
don’t trust that I can bear another minute of him
around me. He surprises me even more, if that is
possible. He rolls to one side of the bed, and falls
into a deep slumber, his regular breathing interrupting my stupor. I want to call for help, but I
am alone with him and my children and I have
daughters too. I am numb. I contemplate calling
my neighbour, but who will believe me? After
all, he is asleep in my house, on my bed. And it
Fe
is no secret to my neighbours that this man and
I are not strangers.
“I dial my sister’s number but her phone is
off. He stirs, and I am overwhelmed by a murderous spirit. I go for the kitchen knife but then
he stands up and leaves, barely acknowledging
my presence.
“At this moment I realise that I have no
clothes on, and I have just wet myself, again. I
feel filthy, angry and very guilty. I blame myself,
why did I open the door? Why didn’t I shout?
Why didn’t I call for help when he was still
asleep?
“The children are now stirring and it is dawn.
I have been seated quietly, lost in the heavy realisation that my life has changed forever. Outside I can hear the estate coming to life. It is all
normal for everyone, everyone but me. I take a
shower, and it dawns on me that I have erased all
evidence, but I really don’t care. When was there
any justice for my kind?
“I shiver at the ordeal that I would have been
put through at the police station, harsh interrogation that carries with it a heavy undertone of
what the interrogator believes is my fault. That it
was a deal gone sour. I’m glad I’ve spared myself
the police encounter. I have now showered and
ready to face my children. I think my life will go
back to normal, but deep inside I know it will
not.
Soon after I am down to one illness after another. I’m continuously fatigued. So I check myself into the hospital. And then they ask about
the baby. What baby? I scream.
“I am pregnant with his child. I want to die.
But that is not all. They run some tests. I’m also
HIV positive and I should be on TB treatment,
they add. I wait expectantly for more bad news.
Nothing more is said, or if it is, I neither heard
nor understood. Now I know for sure that I
want to die. But I have five other children. I’m A woman survivor of sexual violence during the post election crisis. Many women who were raped
and impregnated or infected with HIV are still at a loss as to whether they will ever get justice.
a single parent.
I’m going to have an abortion.
Picture: AWC Woman survivor of sexual violence during the post election crisis. Picture: AWC
“I’m still pregnant and HIV positive. None
of my children know what their mother is deal“But I don’t die, I have another shot at life.
ing with at the moment, but the older ones can Having carried five other pregnancies to term,
see that mum has undergone a major transfor- it breaks my heart to be in this situation. But the The baby that I gave up? I want her back; I’m a
mother of six children. I have to call the adopted
mation. I need to sit them down; they need to baby is not mine, at least not any longer.
“The
delivery
date
draws
nearer,
and
my
family.
hear the truth from me.
pregnancy is no longer a secret. I have been a
“The first phone call is treated with caution
Pregnant & HIV positive widow and tongues are wagging. It is an under- and when my intentions are known, cold hostilstatement to say that my relatives are shocked ity soon descends on our relationship. The sec“The news that I’m HIV positive is received and indignant at my audacity to get myself preg- ond call is outright abusive. Of course by now
with dread. They want to know whether I am nant. They know nothing of the ordeal that I’ve emotions are running high all round and there
going to die and how soon. It breaks my heart. been through this past months.
is little love lost. I wonder how they are treating
I reassure them that mum will be around for a
“Rape is not an issue that people are eager to the baby now that the possibility of losing her
long time and that all will be well. I don’t believe help cope with. It is usually a secret, tucked away was real.
my optimism, but these are my children — my for the larger good. Why soil the family name?
“We schedule a do or die meeting and they
life, and for them I will feel whatever level of op- That is what rape does, it makes family look bad. confronted me with the adoption papers.
timism that I can master.
Thinking about this reality hurts, I feel alone
“With my son and daughter in tow we ar“But as soon as I begin to feel in control and vulnerable.
rive for the highly tense, teary and emotional
again, things get even more complicated when
“I face my condemnation bravely. Thinking meeting. I say as little as possible and tell them
I am admitted to the hospital because I have about it sends me into spells of desperation.
that the situation has changed and could I please
developed extreme anaemia and I need a blood
“Soon I am into labour. The baby’s adopted have my baby back. I am not there to quarrel or
transfusion.
parents are in the hospital and together we leave insult their intelligence or to con them. I just
Even in this bleak moment of my life, the for their home. She weighs two kilograms.
want my baby back.
abortion option is still at the back of my mind.
“A lot is going on in my mind. Where will I
But with little money, I know the abortion if tell people I’ve taken the baby? My children esHope
taken will have to be backstreet and unsafe, pecially?
“As can be imagined, it was a meeting that
I begin to worry for my life. Like hundreds or
“Before I am able to at least plan my next
even thousands of desperate expectant women, move, I am back into the hospital and in a span both parties would want to forget forever. But I
I could die procuring an abortion. And I need to of two and a half months, I undergo two surger- get my baby back, Princess, that is what we call
her. She’s my Princess and I will look after her.
live for my five children.
ies. I now feel as if I am hanging onto life by the
“When we got home after the highly emo“I begin to think about giving up this baby thread. I want my children to remain together
for adoption. I visit the Child Welfare Society, it when I am gone. That’s all I am concerned about. tionally meeting, we all sit together and cry, I
is the lesser evil. I fill the forms and go through As I go to bed, something tells me that I could know my tears are of a mother‘s joy at having
such other necessary procedures. I am doing die, that I may never wake again.
all her children with her. I don’t know what my
something good, I console my aching heart.
children are crying about. I like to believe that
it is the security it gives them, that in spite of
“The news that I’m HIV positive is received with dread. They
all that we have been through, we are all home
happy. And they do not have to worry
want to know whether I am going to die and how soon. It breaks together,
that I will give any of them away.
“I will take care of my six children, and whatmy heart. I reassure them that mum will be around for a long
ever storms life brings, we will soldier on.”
The character here was raped in the post lectime and that all will be well.”
tion violence and in the process contracted HIV
and got pregnant.
—Name withheld
10
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
From being jobless to an employer
Otieno proves that shattered
dreams can be picked to make
life worth living
…By Ajanga Khayesi
F
ew people live up to their
dreams; they wear out and
give up before accomplishing
them.
The situation is even worse for
people who cannot get employed, especially in Kenya as is the case with
many developing countries where few
venture into self employment.
However, one woman whose
dream of working in an office was
shattered, today runs her own business
premises with a staff of four to boot.
For Rabecca Otieno, hardships
and obstacles have merely been have
characterised her life. This explains
why she changed from fish mongering to baking bread. Holding the belief
that the mind tires before the body,
Otieno has experienced how to push
herself further and further whenever
life presents hurdles on her path.
Determination
The determined Otieno discloses
that few people are bold enough to
admit failure during the battle against
unemployment, but lay aspiration on
good jobs to turn up in the future.
According to Otieno, most people
in the villages seek jobs that could put
bread on the family table, while those
in small business dream of expanding
their ventures within the traits of available markets.
The last born in a family of three
children, Otieno was born in Mombasa about 34 years ago before her father,
Mzee Lawrence Ndolo, a lawyer died
in a road accident in 1973.
Something that people don’t know
about Otieno is her ethnic background. “My late dad was Kamba, my
mum was from Seychelles and my
husband Maurice Otieno is a Luo,” she
explains.
Due to poverty, her mother Treezah
Anne moved with the children to stay
with their maternal uncle Chris Adela, a
baker residing at Parklands in Nairobi.
Otieno went to St Theresa Girls’
Primary School before completing
secondary education at Khalsa Sec-
ondary School, Nairobi in 1987.
Otieno would later join a commercial college in Nairobi to acquire
secretarial and accounts skills to fulfil
her dream of working in an office. She
always aspired to be a clerical officer.
Dreams
Luck was not on her side as she
recalls. “I got married before my second year and all my dreams were shattered.”
Leaving college for marriage was a
huge risk. As jobs became scarce, Otieno
shifted from Mombasa to Nairobi and
later settled in the rural home at Got Rabour village in Homa Bay District.
The family survived on small trade
but when the financial situation worsened, she went into fish mongering
business along Homa Bay beaches to
enhance the family income.
Although the fish mongering business flourished well, life proved harder
since money would not come easily.
She transported ngege (tilapia) fish to
markets including business people,
hotels and hospitals in Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru and Kisumu among other
places. After the poor returns, she felt it
was time to unwind the business.
“Fish mongers toil hard, paying for
products from fishermen, purchase
frying oil, charcoal and hiring staff.
But the buyers and market pricing
make them lose all the invested money,” she reiterates.
Having lost the dream of working
in an office, Otieno was not going to
sit mourning over shattered dreams.
The fish business did not raise enough
money. She had to find another source
of income.
She developed a burning desire to
work as a baker. Building on her past
experience, she capitalised on the investment with her previous business’s
diminutive savings.
Otieno had earlier learned the
tricks of baking from her uncle’s business. After proving to be a hard, honest and bright girl in the kitchen, the
uncle who was a professional baker,
introduced her to all forms of baking
ranging from simple bread to compli-
“Neighbours loved the cakes and as word
spread around more buyers flocked in from
the neighbouring estates making the business
flourish.”
— Rebecca Otieno
Rebecca Onyango, a baker shows how she goes about baking bread
and cakes. The entrepreneur says nothing is impossible if you have
faith and determination. Picture: Ajanga Khayesi
cated cake making and icing.
Otieno found herself venturing
into bakery to boost the family finances and enable her cater for her
expenses which include rent, buying
food, medical and school fees.
On arrival in Kisumu town, she settled at Lumumba estate and started collecting broken pieces in the long forgotten
baking field.
Her wit and sharp brain made her
start using kitchen equipment for a rebirth in baking from which she saved
enough money to purchase a large
modernised charcoal oven in Nairobi.
She schemed to market her products to neighbours before setting up a
vendor display at her doorstep.
“Neighbours loved the cakes and
as word spread around more buyers flocked in from the neighbouring
estates making the business flourish,”
Otieno explains.
The secret to baking perfect bread is
sourcing the right ingredients, using the
right techniques and using an appropriate oven to supply the required heat. Basic ingredients for baking include flour,
yeast, cooking oil, sugar, salt, flavouring,
fruits, baking powder, milk, eggs and
margarine among others.
Progress
When she started, Otieno would
bake eight loaves of bread using sufurias (pans). Today, she can bake 100
loaves at ago using the oven.
She also produces cookies, ordinary and party cakes such as those for
weddings, birthdays and graduation
on special order and design.
Besides the main bakery treats, there
are other products. She prepares dressings.
“Dressing enhances natural flavours of food while at the same time
provides vitamins, minerals and other
nutrients that stimulate the appetite
while helping in the digestive process,”
she explains.
Following the high demand by
customers, Katherina’s Bakery has
shifted base to Anderson Estate and
employed four workers.
Talking about tricks in bread making, Otieno says the first important
aspect is to select an appropriate type
of flour, ensuring that it has adequate
level of protein to allow the dough rise
into a nicely shaped loaf of bread when
mixed with yeast.
She says nobody can beat the lovely aroma of bread wafting through a
bakery, on the shelves or in the house
before eating.
“The enticing smell attracts people
to eat the bread,” she reiterates.
“When crafting the dough, yeast
ferments the sugar added to the flour
and during the process, the carbon
dioxide produced gets trapped within
tiny bubbles, resulting in the dough
rising to produce nicely leavened bread
with a smooth texture,” she says.
According to Otieno, daily customers comprise of boda-boda taxi
riders, motor-bike riders, kiosk owners, travellers and residents returning
home from work in Kisumu town.
Rating Katherina’s Bakery among the
best in town, boda-boda rider, George
Otieno appraises the bread as the most
excellent both in price and flavour.
Otieno’s dreams of owning modern bread making machinery for efficiency and does range of multiple
tasks. Tasks include kneading the
dough, faster baking, higher capacity
production, keeping bread warm for
a longer time, provision for additional
fruits and nuts ingredients during the
bread making process.
Having four children, the baking
proceeds have enabled her daughter
Maria Anyango complete secondary
education last year, while the son is
studying at Maseno High School. The
rest are in primary schools in Kisumu.
Her advice to the upcoming and
unemployed women, Otieno says:
“Always remember that education is
the key to success while on the other
hand, hard work, patience, determination and self respect always works at
the end of it all.”
Women
entrepreneurs
claiming more space
…By Odhiambo Orlale
R
ecent policy trends in the country suggest that there may be
greater benefits for encouraging
leadership and strategic decisionmaking by women entrepreneurs in future
than in the past.
These, according to a recent study, include the emergence of greater democratic
space for women, thanks to the new Constitution, coupled with change in profiles of
women in transition economies, increasing
gender mainstreaming.
The joint study on Women Entrepreneurs and Strategic Decision-Making by
Information PS, Bitange Ndemo, and Nairobi University’s Fides Wanjiku Maina,
notes that there has been a continued increase in the number of women creating
jobs, wealth and innovations.
“Whilst such trends undoubtedly present challenges to micro and small enterprises in transition and developing countries, they also present opportunities.” the
study says.
They note that recent studies have highlighted the changing profiles of women and
suggested that a large number of SMEs in
transition economies were owned and operated by women.
Indeed, in five of the nine countries surveyed, women outnumbered men as owners
and operators of micro and small enterprises.
According to the study, women in Swaziland had the best score of 84 per cent representing the share of enterprises owned by women.
They were followed by Botswana (75
per cent); Lesotho (73 per cent); Zimbabwe
(66 per cent); Jamaica (49 per cent); Kenya
(47 per cent); Malawi and Dominican Republic (46 per cent each)
The great number of workers in those
enterprises was women. It also noted that
there were more MSEs in commerce than
in manufacturing.
On women and poverty, studies have
shown that women have characteristics
that could propel them out of poverty if
harnessed properly.
11
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Not so rosy a life for flower pickers
…By Macharia Mwangi
A
s we mark Labour Day,
tales of people suffering
at their places of work
continue to hound especially in industries that are not on
the radar of the Ministry of Labour
and trade union.
The sad story of women working in flower farms could not have
depicted the situation in any other
way. When Jane Morgan (not her real
name) secured a vacancy at a leading
flower farm in Naivasha, she was over
the moon with joy. Everything appeared to fall into place.
Having been picked as a flower
harvester in the energy sapping recruitment exercise, she was positive
the lives of her four children and her
jobless husband would improve.
But the joy was short lived, as the
reality of the rigorous nature of the job
finally dawned on her.
“The pay is not commensurate
with the amount of work done for
eight hours,” complains Morgan.
On a typical day, the dutiful mother and wife wakes up at 5.00 am to do
her daily chores which includes preparing her children to go to a nearby
private school owned by the firm
where she works.
Obligation
This is quickly followed by another round of obligations such as preparing lunch for her children and leaving
for work by 6.30 am, in order to be at
her work station by the reporting time
which is 7 am.
Tired to the bone, she retires to
bed between 11.00 pm and midnight
just to catch the much needed sleep
before the script is replicated the following day.
Earning slightly over KSh5,000,
her pay is considered comfortable
compared to many of her ilk. This too,
comes with more that five years of experience and climbing the ladder.
Her story is replicated by 43–yearold, Mary Wasike, (not her real name).
She is also a flower harvester toiling to
make ends meet.
The mother of six ensures her
motherly duties are well taken care off
before leaving the house at 6.00 am, to
be at her place of work in time.
“Lateness is not tolerated. You are
either reprimanded or at worst, dismissal is always an easier alternative
for the mean looking managers,” she
sums up her frustrations.
Perhaps the worst hit is Sally Salio (not her real name) working in a
relatively smaller flower farm. Her
salary is nothing to write home about,
conforming to the minimum wage requirement of KSh3,600.
Responsibility
With a three month old child, Salio has been forced to take the toddler
to an ill equipped day-care centre since
she cannot afford to hire the services
of a house help.
“The money is entirely used in catering for the basic need of the family,”
she complains bitterly.
Salio shuffles between the daycare centre and her workplace to ensure the baby is comfortable despite
being constrained by the short tea and
lunch breaks.
She abhors the strict supervision
at her place which she describes as
“stressful and dictatorial at the worst.”
Despite the industry’s fortune
growing by the day, the status of the
low cadre workers is yet to change, with
A female worker in a flower farm cuts the plants for packaging. Women in the horticultural industry
complain of low pay and poor working conditions. Picture: Kenyan Woman correspondent
a sizeable number living from hand to
mouth.
“The most unfortunate thing is
that we form the bulk of workers in
the industry,” says Morgan.
The situation of these women
depicts conditions in a flourishing
industry that is attracting hordes of
job seekers. With more than 50 horticultural farms spread across Naivasha
town, the lure is irresistible.
The job hunters are not restricted
to the dusty town alone. Many are
travelling far and wide including from
the newly created counties to try their
luck in the labour intensive industry.
According to available statistics,
women account for 65 percent of an
estimated workforce of more than
50,000 people.
But, like many other employment
sectors, the industry has been unable
to absorb the rising number of job
seekers forcing hundreds to do menial
work that earns them peanuts, hardly
enough to sustain a decent living.
The high presence of women
workers is unmistakable as one makes
an entry into any of the flower farms.
Busy as bees, the women try to outdo
each other picking roses as the horizon appears endless.
Opportunities
At the pack houses, the story is the
same as the women workers’ beauty
complements the well packed flowers
being prepared for export. The level of
commitment is clearly written on their
faces.
The nature of the available jobs
seems to favour women who are cashing on the rare opportunity to put a
meal on the table. Ironically, many are
only managing to secure low cadre
jobs that earn them very little.
Due to academic limitations or restricted options, the women are forced
to take up job offers that hardly sustain
their lifestyles.
For new comers, securing a place
to harvest or pack the multi-coloured
roses come as a blessing. However,
the rosy feeling of having gotten a job
quickly turns to disillusionment as reality dawns on the excited workers.
With frequent cases of casual labour, some of these women working
in less established flower farms are
open to exploitation with majority of
them earning a minimum wage of less
than KSh2,000 monthly.
Their situation is compounded
by the fact that they do not belong to
a union that can help articulate their
grievances as they suffer in silence.
“It’s better half a loaf of bread than
no bread at all,” says a female worker
resignedly.
“It is a dog’s life, but the choices are
limited,” adds another worker.
The three contend exploitation
and sexual harassment is rife in the
industry, but majority of the victims
are too scared to let out their grievances for fear of reprisals and losing
their jobs.
“Sexual harassment is rampant in
some of the horticultural farms,” says
Morgan.
Without delving into details, she
admits some of the women employees
seek alternative sources of livelihood
to supplement their income which has
led to the increase of HIV infections.
“The number of orphans are on
the increase owing to the existing scenario,” she explains.
According to the Kenya Plantation and Agricultural Workers Union,
KPAWU Naivasha branch Secretary,
Due to academic limitations or restricted options,
the women are forced to be casual labourers.
Mr Peter “Ford” Otieno casual of labour is still rampant in the industry.
“It becomes extremely difficult
to articulate issues of such employees
since they don’t belong to any particular union,” he says.
Otieno attributes the high number
of women in the industry to the nature
of the available jobs, adding, “women
don’t complain so much”.
Yet the constitution in Article 41
deals with issues of labour relations. In
Article 41 (1) it says: Every person has
the right to fair labour practices.”
In article 41(2) it says: Every person has the right to (a) fair remuneration; (b) reasonable working conditions; (c) to form, join or participate
in the activities and programmes of a
trade union.”
Terms of service
According to Otieno, most of
the flower farms have signed what
he terms as group Collective Bargain
Agreement (CBA) which puts the
minimum wage at KSh3,600.
“The figure is slightly higher than
the Government minimum wage in
the agricultural sector which stands at
KSh3217,” he says.
Some of the companies have individual CBA’s and negotiate the workers’ salaries with the employees’ representative.
He admits that the minimum wage
is hardly enough, saying the Government should do more to improve the
wages of lowly paid workers.
Otieno says despite increased
cases of occupation diseases attracting
compensation, it was almost impossible to enforce the rule as majority of
the workers depend on company doctors to examine them as opposed to
personal physicians.
“Majority of workers who suffer occupational diseases end up not
getting compensated and their cases
are not properly addressed,” explains
Otieno.
Early pregnancies
blamed for low
education
…By Shaban Makokha
R
ising cases of pregnancies and
negative attitude towards girlchild education in Mumias District have been blamed for low
level and uptake of education among the
girls.
An educationist, Mr Julius Odongo said
the two vices have led to girls dropping out
of schools prematurely. He blamed the culture of considering boys to girls in matters
of education among the Wanga community
as another setback.
Odongo took issue with parents who
settle matters of defilement, rape and early
pregnancies out of court oblivious of the
child’s future.
“Most parents whose girls are impregnated at an early stage do not take legal action against the offenders but instead agree
to settle the matter from home,” Odongo
said.
He observed: “Some are given as less as
KSh5,000 to put the matter under the carpet with the offenders promising to take
care of the expected child.”
Speaking at a funds drive to enable a
girl to join university Odongo criticised
leaders from the area for lacking interest of
education.
“Our leaders have concentrated on
sugar cane matters ignoring other spheres
of life including education. How shall we
realise good returns from farming if we are
not educated on the same,” he posed.
Engineer Mohammed Mukhwana who
was the chief guest put weight on the importance of educating a girl-child and reiterated the saying that educating a girl is
equivalent to educating a nation.
He urged parents to educate all children regardless of their gender. “Education
is the best investment that parents can provide for their children,” said Mukhwana.
12
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Women empowered
with a farmers’ kit
…By Nzinga Muasya
W
omen’s groups are known for
their merry-go-round programmes that are meant to offer
financial support and uplift standards of living. They have proved beneficial particularly to women in low income ventures and
have led them to a path of financial stability.
Many of these groups hardly graduate into
something else but remain in their rudimentary status while others disintegrate as members
scatter away to form and join other groups.
However, one such group in Kitui has graduated from a merry-go-round initiative to an
agri-business project whose returns are helping
the women greatly.
Advancement
The metamorphosis of Tungutu Women’s
Group, formed 15 years ago, has been phenomenal. Its gradual change has seen the membership
grow from strength to strength and the women
can only look forward to a brighter future.
The group, based in Tungutu village, Kyangwithya West location, Kitui County was started
in 1996 by 64 women with the sole purpose of
providing social and financial support to members through merry-go-rounds.
The group’s secretary, Ms Mary Makasa says
they later organised themselves into a formidable group. “We later enhanced our work to
include provision of water services to the village
through water kiosks,” explains Makasa.
The water business became an instant booming venture and before long, the women were
reaping handsome profits.
“Buying household items and paying school
fees was no longer the Herculean task it used to
be. Our venture was paying off,” says Makasa.
The women opened a bank account where
they would deposit their savings every month.
As their bank balance ballooned, the women
could not sleep on their laurels but were motivated to want to make more income generating
investments.
Makasa explains: “Through our savings, we
were able to construct a social hall that now gives
us KSh6,000 per year. We consider this to be a
remarkable income since it adds to whatever
else we get from other initiatives.”
The turn around for the group happened
in June 2010 when they received a farmers’ kit
from the Israel Embassy through Amiran Kenya, an Israeli supported organisation.
The embassy also donated greenhouse materials giving them a strong head start into agribusiness. The kit that consists of a water tank,
pipes, fertilizers, seeds and chemicals helped
the women to go full blast into farming.
After the kit successfully installed, they
planted their first crops which included tomatoes, sukuma wiki (kales) and spinach. However because of teething problems, half of the
expected produce was not realised due to infections and unreliable water supply.
Having learnt from their mistakes, they
nevertheless, harvested tomatoes worth
Members of the Tungutu Women’s Group have come a long way from a mere merry go round
KSh29,000 and kales KSh7,000. Despite this
group to an entrepreneurship. Picture: Nzinga Muasya. Picture: Kenyan Woman Correspondent
small setback, the women did not give up.
They ploughed back their returns to the busipoverty from your households.”
go the training to teach others the same technolness, this time wiser.
The envoy said that the same technology ogy so that it can trickle down to many farmers,”
Makasa says that they have made a tidy sum
was widely practiced in Israel making the desert urged Nzuki.
in profits that has enabled them build more greencountry a hub that exports food and fruits. He
He said that they are working with farmers
houses. The group has also drilled a borehole to
observed that the initiative was geared towards in Yatta, Vihiga, Kibwezi, Mwingi and Kitui disprovide constant water for their crops.
empowering the women economically as well as tricts as well as parts of Nyanza.
“We now have piped water and expect to
eradicating extreme poverty in line with United
While thanking the Israeli ambassador for
have yields amounting to KSh72,000 every two Nations Millennium Development Goals.
the
donation of greenhouses and the farmmonths,” explains Makasa. This amounts to
“Women are good managers and when they ers’ kit, Makasa, said that the gesture was a life
KSh432,000 per year.
are economically empowered, the society would changing initiative that has created a steady inbe more stable,” asserted Keidar.
come for the women.
Impact
The envoy reiterated that with changing
She says: “This income will enable us build at global climatic conditions, water harvesting for
Sustainability
least one greenhouse per year hence our returns irrigation farming was the way to go in order to
“It is a sustainable form of employment for
will keep increasing,”
alleviate food shortages.
us
and
we are very grateful,” she said.
Israeli ambassador to Kenya, Mr Jacob KeiMr Christopher Nzuki, the Amiran Kenya
The group membership now stands at 39 after
dar recently visited the farmers to officially in- projects manager said that the farmers’ kit is
augurate the greenhouses where he praised the a complete solution to food security as it is all they lost seven members through natural attrition
women for their undying zeal and hard work.
inclusive. He said that the kit consists of pipes while the rest are elderly and no longer active.
Makasa says that the group has embarked
Keidar said that greenhouses were making a for drip irrigation, a knapsack sprayer, water
positive impact to the farmers and appealed to the tank, fertilizers, seeds and chemicals to prevent on manufacturing of detergents that raises
women to be consistent with the farming technol- pests and infections. The organisation also offers KSh96,000 annually.
ogy to lift themselves from the yolks of poverty.
training to farmers.
Without a doubt Tungutu Women Group is
Keidar noted: “Greenhouse farming is very
Nzuki observed that the Amiran Kenya going places and its potential is akin to an active
economical as it involves less labour with high policy was to revamp irrigation farming in the volcano. The sky can only be the limit for these
yields. It is a sure way of kicking hunger and country. “I am appealing to farmers who under- dedicated women.
Nothing surpasses the joy of being self employed
…By Karani Kelvin
E
very year, the world commemorates the International
Workers’ Day also known as
May Day on May 1. Workers
and their unions commemorate this
day with organised street parades that
include music bands.
Work conditions
While most Kenyans continue to
benefit from the presence of trade unions,
many others wallow in unemployment
because of poor work policies.
Those who have not benefited
from formal employment have ended
up in self employment by starting
their own businesses.
Ms Lydia Rono, 28, a trader in
Kesses Market in Eldoret East Constituency, Uasin Gishu County, is
one of the many Kenyan woman who
through sheer determination have
gone into self employment by starting
their own businesses.
Rono, who is popularly known as
Mama Mitchell, is the sole proprietor
of a shop that deals in second hand
clothes. She dropped out of school in
Form Two and started a kiosk business by the roadside with a capital
of KSh5,000. This she had pulled together from savings and contribution
from friends.
She would later break and move to
the shop which she now runs. By the
time she was moving into the shop
she had a capital of KSh15,000 which
came from her savings.
Having not completed her secondary schooling, Mama Mitchell did not
contemplate any other form of employment. She, therefore, put all her energies into selling second hand clothes.
The motivation of getting into business was to assist the husband with the
home budget and also to attain some
degree of financial independence.
Credit
To keep the business afloat she
spends KSh40,000 in stock and trips
to Nairobi. Not sure of what it would
take to get credit from the bank, Rono
has therefore not turned to loans to
run her business.
“Starting a business is not as easy
as most people would think. I had
to save for three years before I could
open this place,” she says.
Before moving into her current
location, Rono sold second hand
clothes from a makeshift stall by the
roadside where she suffered from the
adverse effects of weather for being in
the open.
Initially, Rono was a housewife but
after staying at home for some time,
the mother of two decided to venture
into business to augment the money
her husband was bringing home.
She started small but realised that
to break even she need more space that
would attract a bigger number of customers. She decided to save more money as she contemplated her next move.
With time she saved enough
money and moved to a bigger space.
Today, the space she thought was big
is still not conducive and she requires
a much bigger place to sale clothes.
“However, I am not moving from
this place. I want to increase my stock
and grow a strong base,” she says.
There are other challenges Rono is
facing which include getting her stock
from Nairobi between the months of
August to December and from Eldoret town during the other times of
the year.
Looking at the problems she goes
“Starting a business
is not as easy as most
people would think. I
had to save for three
years before I could
open this place.”
— Lydia Rono, Businesswoman
Lydia Rono a busnesswoman in Kesses Market in Eldoret East constituency.
Pictures: Karani Kelvin
through throughout the year, she says
that sometimes the profit is never
enough and she has to rely on her
husband to provide for her and therefore straining their budget.
“But that is not all, I also have to
manage the business as well as the home
and it is not an easy thing,” she says.
Looking at what she gets at the
end of her sales, Rono notes that the
challenges are worth her effort and
not necessarily a problem.
“Selling second hand clothes has
helped me do a lot of things for my-
self and my family. It has also given
me some financial independence and
I do not have to ask my husband for
everything,” she observes.
While she has dreams of opening a
bigger shop and dealing in more goods,
she is contented at the moment.
Running a personal business is encouraging as it gives one an independence that lacks with employment.
Rono is appealing to women in
and out of employment that they
can also start their own businesses in
groups or as individuals.
13
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Tough task ahead for women
from western Kenya
…By Dennis Lumiti
T
he advent of the new constitution ushered in a new era in virtually all spheres
of Kenyans. However, the most outstanding so far are political reforms,
which have seen the creation of new portfolios
and offices and consequently attracting a great
number that will seek to occupy them come the
next General Election.
The four counties of the current Western
Province are awash with political alignments
and realignments with an ever increasing number of people declaring interest in the senator,
governor, deputy governor, MP and County
representative which are among the key positions created in the new laws.
Political interest
However, one thing stands out clearly is the
fact that very few women have expressed interest
in any of the top county positions in the Kakamega, Busia, Vihiga and Bungoma counties.
By the time of writing this article, only one
woman had gone public about her intention to
vie for the Bungoma governor’s seat. Even so,
many feel her chances are remote. A university
don, Prof Reginalda Wanyonyi is so far the only
known woman in the race for the governor of
Bungoma County. She will have to contend with
close to ten men, some of who are the current
movers Bungoma politics.
It is not the first time Wanyonyi is seeking an
elective position. She made an attempt for the
Kimilili parliamentary seat and was the talk of
2007 in the larger Western Province due to her
charisma and development record. However,
the way she lost the Ford-Kenya nominations to
the current MP Dr David Esseli Simiyu remains
controversial and questionable.
While Simiyu had the support of the area’s
political godfathers, Wanyonyi concentrated on
issues and ideologies, which endeared her to the
electorate. However, she never made it at the
nominations.
Politian Eugene Wamalwa addresses a crowd at a rally. (Inset) Julia Ojiambo one of the few
women leaders in Western Kenya. Picture: Kenyan Woman Correspondent
Empowerment
Western Province is one of the regions in
Kenya that boast of dubious credentials as far
as women political empowerment is concerned.
Stereotypes against women leadership in politics still abound, although the problem does not
exist in academics.
Many of the women who seek leadership
positions are highly educated compared to their
male counterparts, but they still do not make it
in Parliament. There is no woman representative
in the 24 constituencies nor is there a single one
nominated woman MP from the Province. The
scenario is not any better in the local authorities
where women councillors, mostly nominated,
make up less than 15 per cent.
Ikolomani Constituency that has a by-election in the offing does not have even a single
woman is eyeing the seat.
Women aspiring for leadership positions
have largely been relegated to the periphery as
male aspirants battle for their votes. The constituency has five elected and two nominated councillors, both men. The situation is no different in
the other constituencies.
Only two women have ever made it to Parliament since independence. This is Dr Julia Ojiambo in Funyula in the 1970s and Prof Christine Mango in Butula (2002-2007).
Prof Ruth Oniang’o was the KANU nominated MP from 2002 to 2007 but even with her
robust development record in Butere she would
not make it in 2007. Her decision to vie reportedly even nearly broke up her family. And not that
these women’s stints ended due to their wanting
development, but because the locals felt “they
were now too tired of being led by a woman”.
Ojiambo and Mango also worked extra hard
compared to their male counterparts to make it.
They also had to rely on the goodwill of the male
folk to succeed.
Ojiambo’s attempts to recapture the seat
have been fruitless. Her being the ODM-Kenya
presidential candidate running-mate to Kalonzo
Musyoka in 2007 did not help matters.
But where is the problem? Is it only to do
with archaic stereotypes or that woman from the
area are not just aggressive enough to fight for
political leadership positions? Or are the women
their own worst enemies?
“Generally we have a women leadership
apathy in Western Province. The situation varies from county to county but there is a lot to
be covered. To me the problem is because of the
traditions which have bogged down women.
Many still believe politics belongs to the men,”
says Dr Collins Matemba, a professor at Masinde Muliro University.
He explains: “The electorate cannot be
blamed because in many constituencies no
woman has ever vied for a parliamentary seat.
So the voters will ask, ‘do you want us to drag
them into politics and vote for them’?”
The few women eyeing various leadership
positions say they are ready to take the bulls by
the horns and launch aggressive campaigns to
ensure they are not left out in 2012.
Some of the top women political figures
in the province include Ojiambo, Mango,
Wanyonyi, Oniang’o, Alice Kirambi who is the
Secretary of the Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization, Ms Happy Gloria who is now engaged
in civil society organisations matters in mainly
Busia and Prof Norah Olembo, a renowned university don.
Frustrations
Each of the women has a story to tell. Some
have kept off politics for a while because of the
challenges they faced. Very few younger women
are coming up to take over their places.
“In 2007 when I declared my interest in the
Sabatia parliamentary seat, I became an instant
enemy of some of my male counterparts who
used all their energies to malign me,” says Alice Kirambi. “I was harassed and frustrated and
“Generally we have a women leadership apathy in Western
Province. The situation varies from county to county but there
is a lot to be covered. To me the problem is because of the
traditions which have bogged down women. Many still believe
politics belongs to the men.”
— Dr Collins Matemba, a professor at Masinde Muliro University.
had to move from one party to another in search
of a nomination because all of them had been
warned against sponsoring me. I was treated like
a leper.”
Kirambi who is famed for her social, economic empowerment initiatives in the area
through her organisation, Christian Partners
Development Association (CPDA) was eventually accepted by the then just-formed, New
Ford-Kenya party which was seeking for candidates for various seats.
Her campaigns were frustrated but she managed to sustain her race up to the ballot where
she finished in the third position. Her memories are fresh and she has not yet opened up on
which political position she will be vying.
Oniang’o’s development record in Butere
speaks for itself. She is remembered for fighting
poverty by donating a cow to nearly every homestead among other development initiatives. This
was even before she expressed an interest in the
parliamentary seat. However, even these development initiatives never helped her.
Oniang’o was constantly being reminded
that “she was only a wife and mother in Butere”
and that she should go back to her parent’s home
in Lurambi Constituency to vie there.
“As women we still have a long way to go in
politics in our province. Our people need civic
education to be convinced that women can make
even better political leaders. Women should also
believe in themselves and their fellow women
because that is where the trouble begins,” says
Oniang’o who presses on with her development
record even after the 2007 experience.
Planning Minister Wycliffe Ambetsa
Oparanya who retained the Butere parliamentary seat in the last polls is now one of the leading
contenders for the Kakamega County governor’s
seat. However, Oniang’o is yet to even think of
taking advantage of the move to have another
try due to what she went through in 2007.
14
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
Discriminatory
culture renders
women squatters
…By Robby Ngojhi
I
n the tiny Lukuka Village, Mbale location,
Taita Taveta County, Mama Ajabu lives the
life of a squatter despite the family owning
large tracts of land.
The mother of two was married about a decade ago but has never had a chance to till the
family farm, a stone throw away from her doorstep, for reasons only known to her in-laws.
“I have never benefited from this shamba
since I got married about nine years ago because I’m not allowed to,” says the 37-year-old
woman.
Before she got married, Mama Ajabu
worked for a firm at the Export Processing Zone
in Mombasa. With the thought that agriculture
might be better paying, she decided to quit her
job with the hope that she would to do some
farming at home.
Farming
“I wanted to do serious farming at home
because I realised that this shamba has a great
agricultural potential and could change my life
if I worked on it seriously,” says Mama Ajabu.
She explains: “It is very fertile land which lies
beside a spring. All kinds of vegetables can do
well here. However, my plans were shuttered the
day I arrived home from Mombasa.”
According to Mama Ajabu, it was her mother-in-law (name withheld) who told her blatantly not to dare do any farming activity on the
family land without her consent.
“At first I thought she was kidding because
by then I was not familiar with her, but as time
went by it dawned on me that she meant every
word since she kept on repeating it time and
again as planting seasons came and went,” recalls the visibly sad woman.
Sources familiar with the family say the said
the mother in law is known to be domineering
and has not been happy with the relationship
between Mama Ajabu and her son who ekes out
a living doing odd jobs in Mombasa.
Owing to fear of being victimized, the woman has been trying to resolve their family conflicts quietly at home without following the law.
“Although I understand that I have a right to
this shamba, I am afraid if I take any legal action,
I might plunge myself into more problems,”
says Mama Ajabu. “We are trying to discuss
the matter at home. I believe we shall come to
a resolution,” she told the Reject recently.
This situation has left Mama Ajabu a pauper, a consequence this has forced her to keep
going around the village every season ‘borrowing’ land from neighbours to do subsistence farming for her upkeep.
Discrimination
“Although I have been married for almost
10 years I am living at the mercy of my neighbours and well-wishers. If one morning they
decide to say enough is enough then it might
be the end for me,” she says.
Mama Ajabu depends on a government
programme known as food for assets which
involves doing some communal activities and
getting food items such as maize flour, beans
and a few cartons of cooking oil as payment.
Lydia Mwacharo, the chairperson of
Maendeleo ya Wanawake in Taveta district
explains Mama Ajabu’s story is perhaps a tip
of the iceberg.
“When it comes to matters of land ownership among local residents, the culture of
gender discrimination is predominant in Taveta. There are very few women who have a say
over land here but most of us do as our husbands or in-laws say,” observes Mwacharo.
She says most single mothers in the area
have no authority over land at their family
home because according to culture women
are not allowed to inherit family land.
Although an impressive number of women in the region voted for the new Constitution, very few of them are aware that laws pertaining to land in Kenya have changed vastly
to their advantage.
Voi Town Mayor, Ms Anisa Hope Mwakio
says it is important that local leaders embark
on serious civic education to shed some light
on the new Constitution to residents especially women at the grassroots level.
“Most of us voted for the new Constitution not because we understood its content,
but because we were desperate for change.
Even though we were given free copies of
both English and Swahili version of the new
Women in Taita Taveta working on a farm. Many
women in this region do not have rights to access
land and are living as squatters. Picture: Robbi Ngojhi
“During the referendum
campaign we were told that the
new Constitution empowers
women. It is high time we
start asking ourselves, where
is the change we voted for? It
is obvious we cannot get the
answer unless we understand
what the document contains.”
— Anisa Mwakio
Voi Town Mayor
Constitution, we did not bother to go through
it to understand what it contained for us. After
the referendum we used the Katiba as fuel to
light jikos or as papers to wrap our maandazi,”
Mwakio explains.
She reiterates: “During the referendum campaign we were told that the new Constitution
empowers women. It is high time we start asking ourselves, where is the change we voted for?
It is obvious we cannot get the answer unless we
understand what the document contains.”
Promises
The same sentiments were echoed elsewhere
by Dr Naomi Shabaan, Minister for Gender and
Social Development who is also Taveta MP. The
minister urged women to realise their strength.
During a women’s leaders’ meeting in Wundanyi town Shabaan said: “You need to keep
your eyes wide open because it is now or never.
The issue of being promised about tomorrow
which never comes is now outdated.”
Chapter five of the new Constitution states
that land in Kenya shall be held, used and managed in a manner that is equitable, efficient,
productive and sustainable in accordance with
the following principle, equitable access to land
… elimination of gender discrimination in law,
customs and practices related to land and property in land.
Lessons from Middle East for the Kenyan woman
…By Karani Kelvin
T
his is an interesting time in
Africa as what many view as
a wave of revolution sweeps
through the continent with
some likening it to an “African renaissance”. We have witnessed, this far,
the ousting of two authoritarian regimes. It started with Tunisia when its
people, especially the young who lack
employment, took to the streets to
demand the resignation of President
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
It did not take much time before
the wave swept across Egypt, uprooting the people from their homes and
planting them in the streets of Cairo
completely catching President Hosni
Mubarak by surprise. This wave transcended Egypt and started sweeping
across the Middle East in countries
like Yemen, Jordan, Pakistan and Iran.
In Africa, Algeria and Libya seem to
be looking forward to revolutions of
their own.
Worthy of note is the commonality of the issues at hand. The people
are expressing discontent to virtually similar issues. They are complain-
ing of unemployment, inflated food
prices, corruption, suppression of
the freedom of speech and other political freedoms. The important thing
to note from these occurrences is the
power that comes with unity. Through
non-violent means, people are saying
to regimes that have failed them to
pack and go.
Controversy
Back at home, there was a lot of
controversy surrounding the appointment of four key officials. On one
hand, there was debate as to whether
there were consultations before the
appointments. On the other hand,
we saw women taking to the streets
to demand gender parity in the appointment of public officers. We shall
return to this shortly.
Allow me to borrow from history and draw particularly from the
French Revolution of 1789. This led
to the fall of the French Monarchy
and feudalism and the replacement of
it by a radical democratic regime. The
social reforms that resulted brought
about equal citizenship rights and
granting of inalienable rights to the
people. These changes, it suffices to
add, were brought about by liberal
minded political groups and masses
on the streets.
The active participation of women
in this revolution as seen in the “women’s march on Versailles” on October
5, 1789 is of particular importance.
Harsh economic conditions characterised especially by the shortages of
bread inspired this move, coupled
with increasing poverty. Women, in
the then French nation as elsewhere
on the globe, did not have equal citizenship rights with men. The march
on Versailles, therefore, acquired
symbolic proportions and was read
as such. It marked a formal entry of
women from the private sphere (the
home), in which they had been relegated to by patriarchy, into the public
sphere which was understood to be
the domain of men.
The question that now begs for
an answer is this: what lesson is there
to learn from these revolutions? We
clearly see that there is power in unity. These revolutions are testament to
the fact that when people come together, for the common good, noth-
ing can stand against them; nothing
can stop them from achieving their
mission.
If we do agree that unity among
the oppressed leads to their redemption, let us understand the political
change of guard symbolically. Our
societies are structured in ways that
discriminate women, the young and
poor. Of more importance to us in
this article is the symbolic relevance
of the political upheavals to women in
our societies.
Tensions
Before the revolutions, the two
leaders from Tunisia and Egypt
were considered to be authoritarian and those who opposed them
did so at a very great cost. Currently, tension is rising in other countries including Algeria, Yemen and
Libya. Having witnessed others,
they too believe that it is possible
for them to change things in their
own lands.
And this is the lesson the Kenyan
women must appreciate. That for
them to fully partake of what the constitution rightfully declares as theirs,
they must come together to share
ideas on how best their interests will
be taken care of. Coming together
alone may not bear much but unity
founded on hope is what is needed, it
is the reason for the change of guard
in North Africa.
Often times, and ethical egoists
propound so, people always seeks
that which serves their own interests.
Once this has been achieved they
forget others who are still out in the
rain. And the folly of this, Martin Nimoeller points out is that when those
who have now succeeded are faced
with problems, they always realise that
they are alone and have no one fighting for them. In one of his celebrated
poems, the persona talks of a time
in Germany when the fascist regime
came for communists, Catholics, etc
and he did not speak out against the
injustices.
When the authoritarian regime
finally hunts him down, he realises
albeit too late that there is no left
around who can fight for him. The
challenge, therefore, is to the Kenyan
woman: will she join hands with others or fight alone?
15
Issue Number 17 • May 2011
…By Joyce Chimbi
Women bear effects of
poor water services
A
s poverty continues to
take a female face, lack of
access to water and basic
sanitation continues to
weigh heavily on women.
This is more evident in those who
live in slums and struggle to find the
KSh10 needed for five litres of water.
Water is, therefore, a crisis for
women and children who continue
to bear the burden of collecting it and
ensuring that it sustains the day to
day needs of the family.
This is even more difficult in areas where they have to walk for many
kilometres in the search for the life
sustaining commodity.
Reports
According to UN reports, across
the world but most especially in Africa “girls drop out of school either
because they have to help fetch water or because there are no adequate
sanitary facilities in schools. Millions
of school days are lost as a result.”
As a series of short and long rains
continue to fuel the water crisis, and
with taps running dry, Nairobi residents have shifted to borehole water
as source of the commodity. However,
this too is proving to be inadequate
and Nairobi residents have been eagerly awaiting a report from the Meteorological Department on the weather
patterns and the annual rainfall.
According to the Director of Meteorological Department, Dr Joseph
Mukabana, heavy rainfall is expected
soon, but not much rain has been
forecast.
This prediction comes after the
short rains fell below the expected
level fuelling the existing water crisis
in the city.
Solutions
It is against this backdrop that
this year’s World Water Day was expected to come with solutions that
would help reduce the impact of severe climatic change that has affected
many homes.
“We are here today to dialogue
about water, this precious resource
and look for solutions to the persistent climactic changes. This is in addition to the challenges of urbanisation,” said Ms Edna Molena, South
Africa’s Minister for Environment
and Water Affairs. She was speaking
at the global celebrations to mark the
World Water Day held in Cape Town,
South Africa.
Speaker after speaker at the event
alluded to the rapidly growing urban
population and the lack of capacity in
most cities across Africa to sufficiently respond to the situation.
This is especially key in light of
the feminisation of access to water and
sanitation, “often, the responsibility to
ensure that the household has sufficient water for the basics of day to day
lies solely on women,” explains Hellen
Njogu, a resident of Nairobi.
Her comments were echoed by
speakers at the conference who emphasised that various water reports
particularly in Africa reveal that
challenges of access to water and
sanitation are rarely cited by male respondents as a priority while women
will first and foremost allude to these
challenges before moving to other
sectors like health.
In the slums for instance, long water queues are dominated by women
and children. This notwithstanding,
the concept of gender and water access as well as supply has not permeated the water health and sanitation
approach and discourse.
The forum, therefore, called for a
renewed and more strategic response to
the lack of water and sanitation in many
homes without losing focus of the gender dimension to the entire discourse.
Poor planning
“Due to poor planning and management by water officials in Nairobi,
many homes have to contend with having water twice a week,” observed Mr
Johnstone Kimathi, a water consultant.
“City Council has come up with
ways of ensuring that the water reaches many people by opening their pipes
in the wee hours of the night when
people are too sleepy to exploit the
opportunity and will only fetch what
they need to meet the basics needs,”
remarked Ms Nancy Turi, a resident
of Nairobi’s eastland locality.
It is the women and children who
have to wake up during these obscene
hours to collect the water in containers. If they do not then they miss
work or school as the commodity remains a priority.
The issue of poor planning by the
various municipalities and City Council came into sharp focus during the
forum in Cape Town and sadly reflects
the challenges that Nairobi residents
have to deal with on a daily basis.
According to the recently released
national census results, Kenya’s population is growing by one million per
year yet in a town like Nairobi that is
the capital city, water supply, sanita-
A woman from West Pokot with containers for water. Women and girls bear the burden of looking for water
Picture: Kenyan Woman Correspondent
tion and transport remains the biggest challenge.
Further, rural urban migration is
to blame for the rapid increase of an
estimated three million people making it the largest city in East Africa.
“Although the name Nairobi is derived from a Maasai word enkare nyirobi, which loosely translates into ‘a
place with cool waters’ and for many
years has been popularly referred to by
Kenyans as ‘the green city in the sun’
these phrases however are slowly becoming rather ironic,” explained Ms
Cecilia Tande, an environmentalist.
With harsh climatic conditions,
coupled with a growing population
that has resulted to an increase in
multi-storey buildings, the city continues to face severe water problems.
Nairobi has a shortfall of 120,000
housing units needed annually and
this has necessitated the mushrooming of many houses that has created a
“We are here today to dialogue about water, this
precious resource and look for solutions to the
persistent climactic changes. This is in addition to
the challenges of urbanisation.”
— Ms Edna Molena, South Africa’s Minister for Environment and
Water Affairs speaking at the global celebrations to mark the World
Water Day held in South Africa
surge in demand for water.
“In order to respond to the demand
for housing, many flats are at least five
floors high and the City Council has
continued to claim that most of them
have interfered with the water infrastructure making it difficult for them
to expand the water pipes to meet the
demand,” explained Kimathi.
According Stella Kabura, a business woman who runs a web-based
information resource on various issues in Kenya, the City Council has
also failed to effectively collect water
revenues that can be used to expand
the available water infrastructure.
“The deterioration in piped water
supplies is exacerbated by the longterm financial crisis of the municipal
water system which is unable to collect bills on illegal water tapping and
is, therefore, unable to maintain its
infrastructure without revenue,” Kabura noted.
Management
Seeing lack of management in
water resources, many developers
and home owners have resorted to
sinking boreholes, an activity that
has contributed to the disappearance
of the water table.
Kabura notes that Karengacha
Borehole Company, which has been
supplying city residents with water
since 2002 from two boreholes in
the Nairobi basin, reports that where
their electric pumps used to draw 11
cubic metres of water an hour, they
now can only draw eight cubic metres an hour.
“They now have to run the pumps
for fewer hours to maintain supplies,”
reiterates Kabura.
Although the Meteorological Department predicts that rain will soon
start in many parts of the country,
they have indicated that it will be unevenly distributed with dry spells in
between rainy days.
However, even in the event that
the rains do fall, the country still
lacks sufficient capacity to harvest
the rains.
Water experts at the meeting observed that the Nairobi water problem could only be solved by adoption
of water harvesting technology from
the tall buildings and also sinking of
more dams.
They noted that a water harvesting programme from the residential
houses also needs to be put in place
to help boost supply in the city.
Nairobi is yet to adopt an integrated approach to respond to the
water and sanitation crisis. However,
for better planning and effective service provision, the relevant ministries
need to adjust their policies to include
water harvesting.
Executive Director: Rosemary Okello-Orlale
Editorial Director: Arthur Okwemba
Managing Editor: Jane Godia
Sub-Editors:
Duncan Mboya, Joyce Chimbi
Contributors: Ryan Mathenge, Shaban Makokha, Faith Muiruri, Musa
Radoli, Joyce Chimbi, Wanjiku Mwaura, Odhiambo Orlale,
Samwel Kipsang, Omondi Gwengi, Mercy Mumo, Ajanga
Khayesi, Macharia Mwangi, Nzinga Muasya, Karani Kevin,
Denis Lumiti, Robby Ngojhi
The Kenyan Woman is a publication of African
Woman and Child Feature Service
E-mail: [email protected]
www.awcfs.org
Design & layout: Noel Lumbama and Bernadette Muliru (Noel Creative
Media Ltd)
This paper is produced with support from
The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)