African Woman and Child Feature Service

As we celebrate the International Women’s Day (IWD) all over the world, we take pride in the steps that women have taken in various fields.

In Kenya, we celebrate the 22 female Members of Parliament 15 of whom were elected to parliament, we celebrate Pamela Jelimo for her sterling performance in sports, and we celebrate Judge Lady Justice Joyce Oluoch for her appointment to the International Criminal Courts (ICC).

But inspite of these remarkable strides, “it is still unfortunate that as the calendar turns to mark another international day for women, the situation for the Kenyan woman has remained largely the same,” says the Minister for Gender and Children Affairs, Hon Esther Murugi.

“At a meeting in Guatemala in January this year discussing gender issues and the difficult situations that women continue to grapple with, it occurred to me that the agenda for this meeting has not changed since the 1995 Beijing Conference,” she observes.

In fact, the gender agenda has not changed since the first ever World Women Conference convened in Mexico in 1975.

The 1975 Conference, which coincided with the start of the  International Women’s Year, was sent a strong message to the international community that women would no longer accept to be discriminated against and instead were demanding more space for the realization of the principles of equality, peace and development  In addition, the Conference was a platform for a massive global effort to launch an international agenda on gender equality. It was also this particular Conference that ushered in the United Nation’s Decade for Women between 1976 and 1985.

“In light of all these conferences and gender talks that have spanned several decades, I am still very much saddened by the fact that the gender agenda has not translated into tangible benefits for particularly the Kenyan women,” explains the Hon Esther Murugi.

“Politics remains a dangerously hostile arena for women although we surpass men by far when it comes to the number of female votes yet we cannot seem to translate these numbers into reality, it begs the question, are we (women) our worst enemies?”

Although the political arena remains largely hostile to women, the education sector is breaking all barriers in its efforts to educate the girl child: “We have managed to penetrate communities that previously saw no significance in educating the girl child by about 90 per cent,” expounds Hon Esther Murugi.

“We are now implementing the ‘Return to School’ program that gives female students  the opportunity to complete their education even after getting pregnant, we have lowered the university entry for girls by one point and all these efforts have contributed to the girl child’s excellence in academics.”

These initiatives have seen girls in Kenya make commendable progress and proceeded to achieve academic excellence previously almost exclusively left for men.

Although the implication and benefits that come with educating the girl child are immense, it is however no substitute to the fact that decision making positions continue to elude women.

“I get the impression that we generally haven’t made the cause-effect relationship between women being in position of influence (decision makers at all levels) and translating the gender agenda into a reality,”

“For as long as women continue to form the minority of decision makers, the calendar will continue to turn, and the IWD will slowly turn into a day when we come together to grumble about issues that continue to make life unbearable for women as opposed to what is should be - a celebration.”

The Minister said that issues such as gender based violence continue to afflict women, for instance rape is the second most reported crime and HIV/AIDS has continued to take the face of the Kenyan woman with the latest statistics by the Kenya Aids Indicator Survey(KAIS) showing that of every five  HIV infected people three are women.

In Kenya, an estimated 43 percent of married women face sexual and physical violence from their intimate partners which increases their vulnerability to HIV. For most women therefore, the state of their health is largely determined by the behaviour of their partners.

“Among youths aged between 15 to 24 years, women are four times more likely to be infected with HIV than men,” expounds Dr. Nduku Kilonzo the Executive Director of Liverpool VCT, Hurlingham.

“Furthermore, the burden of care regarding HIV/AIDS continues to be borne by women. Whether you are talking about infection, treatment or care, no one is more pressed than women where HIV is concerned,” adds Dr Kilonzo.

In 2007, 452,800 HIV positive individuals also suffering from tuberculosis were receiving care and support under the United States of America’s President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

Dr. Nduku Kilonzo therefore emphasized that the responsibility to care and support for the HIV positive partner, relative or friend is a challenge many women continue to face. HIV treatment and care, as well as home-based care programmes that are gender sensitive have not been put in place to complement individual and collective efforts of women and entire communities.

The statistics further show that out of every 10 pregnant women, one of them is HIV positive. Since 2003, 121,600 women have been receiving antiretroviral prophylaxis under the Preventing Mother to Child Transmission Program (PMTC).

 “Gender strategic investment in the form of gender responsive initiatives have never been more urgent and these are some of the glaring challenges facing women that led us to including the aspect of care giving in this year’s theme for the IWD,” Explains Hon Esther Murugi.

“The fight against HIV/AIDS and gender based violence require that national programmes to fight these challenges address underlying gender inequalities, particularly the aspect of equal sharing of responsibilities between men and women.”

The theme for this year’s IWD, “Equal Sharing of Responsibility between Men and Women including Care Giving” is an attempt to push the gender equality agenda to highlight the overwhelming situation for women caring for those living with HIV/AIDS.

This, the Minister said calls for all stakeholders to address harmful gender norms and stereotypes which recognize the Kenyan woman as both the breadwinner and care-giver in the family, yet deny her the opportunity to be present at the decision making table.

Amidst today’s celebrations, women in Kenya and the world at large are waiting to see if the goals of the 2009 theme can be realized. Today is as good a place to begin.