Dream weavers: “Kenya is food secure.” There are two stories being told about food security. One story says we are food secure and the other says we are not. The stories are being told – and written – by various people with different intentions. There are those who weave dreams, where fiction reigns and happy endings preside. Then there are those who tell it like it is.
Rethinking Human Rights: Are sexual minority rights human rights? 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.
When You’re Accustomed To Privilege, Equality Feels Like Oppression Article 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?
The Walls We Can’t See Actual transformation of gender relations is painfully slow. Women in Kenya continue to suffer the brunt of poverty, illiteracy and exclusion from decision making. And men’s voices are largely missing from the equality dialogue. There seems to be political reluctance and resistance to reforming the system of governance in order to increase representation of women in public life.
Intergenerational Dialogue on Feminist Activism 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.
Why Don’t Women Vote For Other Women? Reconsidering Automatic Privilege and Tokenism in Political Processes As Zanzibar gearsup for a rerun of Presidential, Legislative and Local Councils Elections annulled in October 2015, the Regional Commissioner (RC) of Mwanza, Magessa Mulongo on March 8th while commemorating International Women’s Day made some remarks worthy of a response. Mr. Mulongo used a familiar trope to try to explain women’s low numbers in representative structures-elected or nominated: he chastised women for being each other’s worst enemy.
Elective Politics: No Walk in the Park Women & Leadership: Transforming Kenyan Leadership - Hbs Nairobi Watch on YouTube This external content requires your consent. Please note our privacy policy. This video is a short peek into the experiences of a handful of women who have tried their hand in elective politics.
Missing Voices - Gender Forum 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.
Gender Forum in Samburu County - “Beyond the Tarmac” 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%.
The Protection Against Domestic Violence Act (PADV) 2015 For many years in Kenya, domestic violence has been meted out on men, women and children but there was no specific legislation on such a crime. In May 2015, the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act (PADV) 2015 was accented to and its commencement date was June 2015.