The main aim of this programme is to strengthen the argument through research the way in which gender and its intersection with other key social categories of marginalization and discrimination is addressed within East Africa and how various organizations in the region have addressed this issue through their work.

Kenya is in turmoil – the lives of over 1,000 citizens have been snuffed out, over a quarter of a million Kenyans have been forced to flee from their homes. Somewhere in the midst of media reports of ethnic cleansing, and government claims of a return to calm and normalcy, the real story is being lost. The truth is not weighing into debate as it should.

A group of women journalists have come together, facilitated by the Swedish and Norwegian envoys in Kenya, and launched an initiative called 'Healing the Nation'.

This is an objective with both short and long-term objectives – all to one end. To foster a sense and reality of one-ness in Kenya, to heal the wounds opened up by years of inequality and to tackle head-on, the very issues that have brought this country to its knees in this unprecedented way.

In one phrase, Kenya's women journalists are coming together in commitment to work to promote truth, justice, and peace and healing to Kenya.

In 2007, women in Kenya set up a campaign in support of a Cabinet bill No. 32 that seeks to increase the representation of women in parliament by 50 seats through a Constitutional Amendment. Recalling that previous attempts to pass affirmative action in Parliament had borne no fruits, it is important to support this bill in order to secure a legislative framework that guarantees a women’s quota in Parliament.

The signatures were part of a wider strategy for securing a legislative framework that guarantees the women’s quota in Parliament, although if passed, it would not lead to the agreed national quota of at least 30 percent representation for women at all levels of women. By continental standards, Kenya is still far behind the African Union recommendation of 50 percent representation for women.

At least 40 women’s organizations were organized around a National Steering Committee and a National Women’s Negotiating Team for this struggle and also through the Gender and Governance Programme. Consultative meetings were held with women leaders and political party leaders.Requests were written to religious leaders asking for support and prayers.

The Gender and Governance Programme is in its second phase, and it is a multi-stakeholder programme formulated to deepen the gains of the Engendering Political Process Programme (EPPP) in ensuring that women’s issues remain relevant in the national polity, to support transformative leadership across all levels and tiers of government that delivers for people and in particular delivers on gender equality and to strengthen women’s leadership within communities and at the national levels.

AWC in conjunction with the Reproductive Health and Rights Alliance (RHRA) is working on a project to create and promote awareness on unsafe abortion among the public, journalists, editors and other media practitioners through building partnerships.

The objectives of the project are:

• To create awareness on unsafe abortion among the public as part of an effort to facilitate and provoke debate on the need for responsive and comprehensive reproductive health rights within a well defined socio-economic and legal framework.

• To seek interventions on how best to address unsafe abortion in Kenya.

CAPF is an alliance of governance focused civil society organizations in Kenya that bring together their expertise, experiences and programmatic resources towards the improvement of practice and culture of political party financing in the country.

Hence, CAPF members will be monitoring the elections as part of the Coalition’s mission to scrutinize the link between campaign funds and politics, thereby, reducing corruption and institutionalizing multi-party democracy in Kenya.

Although the Coalition will limit its monitoring exercise to Nairobi province, it will collaborate with other organizations currently working in other parts of the country to monitor nationally, the financing of aspirants - both parliamentary and civic level.

The scope of monitoring will be limited to the income and expenditures of the aforementioned candidates and parties. The breakdown of which is outlined below:

• A summary of the party’s financial income statement indicating the various sources.
• And their proposed budget for the 2007 elections.