By Diana Ithiru
As the world marked International Women’s Day, Kenya is still grappling with myriad challenges of gender inequality which remains entrenched in almost every sector.
This is despite assurances and commitments from authorities on actualizing ways to safeguard the rights of women in society so as to bridge the gap.
Just like in many African societies, Kenya is faced with the challenge of stereotypes which play a central role in holding women back, according to Bernard Ogoi, Project Coordinator at Journalists for Human Rights (JHR)-Kenya Canada’s leading media development organization that trains journalists to report on human rights and governance issues in their communities.
Kenya is heading to elections in August and the number of women likely to be on the ballot based on aspirants who have expressed interest is far too low as compared to their male counterparts.
Besides being judged by their gender roles and marital status, Ogoi says, women leaders are also pushed to vie in areas where they are born while at the same time they are considered to have been married and need to look for leadership in their husbands home areas.
A recent survey by TIFA shows that most women are unable to vie for elective leadership positions due to lack of encouragement and support from their communities.
Other reasons cited are lack of financial support, lack of confidence, responsibilities back home and lack of encouragement from political parties.
Even though the electoral commission has issued strict guidelines that require political parties to adhere to the two-thirds gender rule in their nominations, less women are seen to express interest in the elective posts.
Ogoi agrees with the recent TIFA study, saying men are never asked about how they will balance their other responsibilities, including at the family level when offering themselves for posts.
“While they get questions about how they’ll balance leadership and family roles, their male counterparts are never put to task over the same,” he said.
For Sammy Muraya, who is the Program Manager at Voice for Women and Girls’ Rights Kenya (VWGR-K), a JHR project, Kenya has a long way to go in achieving gender equality.
Significant inequalities between males and females in education, health, representation in parliament, and participation in other decision-making organs still exist, he said.
Compared to countries such as Rwanda and Uganda, Sammy said, Kenya still lags behind regionally in ensuring inclusion of women in positions of political leadership.
Sammy believes that deeply entrenched patriarchal mindsets and how we’ve been socialized continues to weigh the country down in its quest to achieve gender equality.
Despite the Constitutional requirement on inclusion and non-discrimination, Kenyans continue to resist change. Additionally, the leadership class has not prioritized gender equality in its agenda.
What should be done to bridge the gap?
To close the gap, the media has a critical role to play in changing the narrative that gender equality is not a women’s issue, and that just like men, women have the ability be leaders and contribute to political, economic and social development and sustainability of the country.
The writer comments on gender equality issues.
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