A book that gives a summary of the legal and policy framework on the rights of women and girls in Kenya has been launched. The book has been written by Idza Luhumyo to help women and girls in Kenya to identify and know how to defend their rights at different levels.
“Women in Kenya have over the decades faced systematic and institutionalized discrimination. This has been perpetuated at all levels of society by individuals and the society,” said Anne W. Ireri, the Executive Director at FIDA Kenya.
According to Dr. Stefanie Rothenberger, the Director of the Rule of Law Program for Anglophone Sub-Saharan Africa of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, “in Sub-Saharan Africa, as in many parts of the world, women have to struggle with discrimination and marginalization in public as well as in the private sphere.”
The representation of women in Kenyan politics is still an ongoing process. The book says that women accounted for 9.2 percent of the 1,835 elected positions in Kenya in 2017. This was a marginal increase from 7.7 percent in the 2-13 elections.
In Kenya, women vying for political seats are often subjected to harassment, verbal abuse, and threats of physical violence. The Constitution of Kenya currently requires a 2/3 majority representation of either gender both in appointments and elections.
The book can be accessed through this link.
According to the book, girls who are between the age of 15 and 19 make up to 60 percent of those who are experiencing unintended pregnancies. This arguably points to a female teenage crisis in Kenya. According to the United Nations Population Fund, 21 percent of women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone some form of female genital mutilation.
Access to contraceptives and other forms of birth control remains a challenge in Kenya. Only 11 percent of sexually active teenagers typically use birth control or other contraceptives. More needs to be done to make women understand their rights.
Today’s event was courtesy of ICJ Kenya.