The Gender Question

Still on the subject of our human resource, there is growing recognition of the different but equally important roles that men and women play in the economic and political development of all healthy communities and nations. All over the world it has been demonstrated that where the role of women is acknowledged the economy is better and standards of living are higher.

Despite this knowledge, dozens of hurdles continue to prevent women and girls from contributing to their full capacity at every level to the development of Kenya. Expert analysis has documented the distinct disadvantages faced by women and girls in Kenya.

The status of women is particularly concerning as it affects a half of our population. These women are our mothers, our sisters and our daughters. Anything that we do to ensure that women are able to enjoy their full rights as citizens of Kenya will directly return benefits to the whole society. Women who are better educated will likely have better chances of making a good living and contributing to the national good. With this advantage, those who become mothers will have the means of access and knowledge of the importance of better nutrition and healthcare for themselves and their families and this will translate to their raising healthier children – both boys and girls – and a healthier citizenry.

Women are the first nurses to the sick in their homes; they are custodians of the younger generation of Kenyans whom they feed and protect until they are adults; they are the first teachers and custodians of Kenyan values. Women make up over 70% of the workforce on rural farms. It is they who physically till the land and tend to crops through to harvest. Most importantly, they are human beings in their own right with talents and aspirations that could quite literally turn around this country from poverty to wealth if we enable them.

At the centre of political leadership in Kenya we must recognise the centrality of the role played by women not as an election gimmick but as a development principle. We must include women in development planning, legislation, and political decision making in general.