#GenderForumKE

Gender innovation can be defined as innovations specifically targeted at addressing the roots of gender inequality. Gender inequality is a global phenomenon; different methods have been applied to address the diverse forms of gender inequalities in the world over. Decades of implementations have still not seen an end to gender inequalities more so on gender- based violence and sexual reproductive health related concerns. There is need to fast-track gender equality around the world, we need to shift these trajectories, upend existing dynamics, and pursue game changing interventions.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a vice that has affected Kenya for decades. Despite several interventions by the government and NGOs, FGM continues to persist in certain communities in the country. National statistics indicate that the FGM prevalence rate stands at 27%.

Gender innovation can be defined as innovations specifically targeted at addressing the roots of gender inequality. Gender inequality is a global phenomenon; different methods have been applied to address the diverse forms of gender inequalities in the world over. Decades of implementations have still not seen an end to gender inequalities more so on gender- based violence and sexual reproductive health related concerns. There is need to fast-track gender equality around the world, we need to shift these trajectories, upend existing dynamics, and pursue game changing interventions.

On January 28th, 2016, HBS Nairobi convened a panel to discuss the relationship between civilians and the police in a discussion dubbed “Missing Voices”. The panel, comprised of L. Muthoni Wanyeki, Regional Director for Amnesty international in East Africa; Wanjeri Nderu, a social media activist and the founder of the Empowering Communities Community Organisation and Ruth Mumbi, a community organiser and activist, and moderated by Yvonne Okwarah from the Kenya Television Network (KTN), aimed to give voice to victims of police brutality and violence, but also the challenges facing the police, in order to point out some of the contextual issues that have led to an alarming rate of police brutality in the country and completely eroded the trust between individuals and police.

This was the question that lingered in everybody’s mind at the recently concluded Gender Forum in Mombasa. The forum was held against the backdrop of a Mombasa court ruling that dismissed arguments that the practice of anal examination is degrading and amounts to torture and-by extension a violation of one’s rights.

During the May 2016 Gender Forum, we discussed what Feminism means for Kenyan women from different perspectives and facets, and a man asked an important question. His question was, with all this feminism and equality things, what would happen when women achieve this? Wouldn’t women seek to harm men?

Intergenerational Dialogue on Feminist Activism - Hbs Nairobi Watch on YouTube This external content requires your consent. Please note our privacy policy. We hosted a conversation with three women, Julia Ojiambo, Daisy Amdany and Njoki Ngumi, representing different generations of activists. The coffee table dialogue seeks to find out the extent to which global plans and strategies have informed activists at different moments and how feminist action develops across generations.

Majority of Kisumu County's population lives in the grip of a patriarchal structure where gender roles are ascribed. The County’s policy and development blueprints as well as County budget make useful references to gauge the prioritization and analysis of gendered needs of the Couny residents.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that approximately 125 million girls and women alive today had been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in 29 countries, mainly in Africa and the Middle East where FGM is prevalent. On the 26th of February 2015, Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Nairobi office once again convened the monthly Gender Forum at the Nairobi Safari Club, with the agenda of addressing FGM in Kenya. In a highly emotional ambience, people from different backgrounds in Kenya came together to discuss FGM in Kenya and what can be done to fight the vice.

How is gender equality understood at the County level, and how can the County’s policy and development blueprints and sectoral budget be used to prioritise and analyse gendered needs?

The Gender Forum travelled to the ethnically cosmopolitan town of Isiolo to contribute a platform for dialogue on women’s participation in decision making in Isiolo County, with focus on the budgeting process.

African gender equality champions have made notable strides - through the state, in political parties, in the media and the economic sphere toward a seemingly elusive gender equality goal. Efforts are frustrated by interpretations of societal norms and values rooted deeply in patriarchal structures and mindsets. Has enough been done to re-socialise or re-educate?

Women politicians and journalists have fallen victim of false information, most often through personal attacks meant to discourage them from politics or silence their voices in the media. Studies by AMWIK, ‘Women Journalists’ Digital Security’ in 2016 and 2017 indicate that social media has been the most used platform for attacks against female journalists, with the most common gendered attacks being cyber stalking, sexual harassment, impersonation with parody accounts, surveillance and un-authorized use and manipulation of personal information, including images, and videos. With more women in the public limelight, it is projected that more will become victims of fake news.