gender democracy

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.

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%.

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.

30 April 2015 - Do women in agriculture recognize the business opportunities? Why don’t banks finance women agri-entrepreneurs? What is the Government of Kenya doing to ensure women agri-entrepreneurs the same opportunities as men? These were some of the questions raised during a one-day workshop and forum on Women in Agribusiness convened by World Bank Group Fellow, Dr. Rahma Adam, with support from HBS Nairobi.

Stretching the length of time seems like a very attractive idea for Kenyan legislators today. About 21 weeks to an August 2015 legislative deadline, consensus inside and out of Parliament has not been reached on a formula to ensure equitable gender representation in subsequent parliaments in line with Article 27(8) of the Constitution. Representatives of various lobby groups attended and presented their various formulae and strategies toward gender-equitable representation in national parliament at the Heinrich Boell Stiftung’s Gender Forum on 26th March 2015

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.

Two Thirds Gender Rule in the National Assembly and the Senate To fully realize the two thirds gender rule in the national Assembly and the Senate, Kenyans will have to agree to a minimum constitutional amendment. This was the message that was given at the monthly Gender Forum on November 27.

“Women must not to shy away from aiming for elective political seats”, urged the guest speaker, the former nominated MP, Sophia Abdi Nur. In 1997, Ms. Abdi Nur became the first woman in Kenya's North Eastern Province to vie for a political seat when she ran for parliament representing Ijara district. She lost the race but didn't give up. She was nominated in 2008 and became the first woman member of parliament from her region

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.