Kenyan Woman Issue 4

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Issue Number 04 • April 2010

EDITORIAL Troubled times for gender empowerment

Anticipation All hopes are on the referendum

T

his year marks the 15th since the Beijing Conference that set agenda for the Beijing Platform for Action. However, while progress has been reported in many fields, the same cannot be said in many others.

For instance, there are countries which have not made uplifting of the status of women and working towards their advancement as well as empowerment, a priority.

The issue of women taking up slots in positions of decision making seems to be a pipe dream for countries in the Arabian Peninsula and the small islands in the Pacific.

In Kenya, the issue of 30 percent parity remains a thorn in the flesh of many who are still choked with the yokes of patriarchy; this is despite the fact that the African Union is asking its member states to practice 50-50 parity in politics and decision making.

What is disheartening is that most gender programmes, that seek to empower women and give them visibility are at risk of losing track of their activities. Further, a majority of the gender programmes are supported by donor funding.

Many governments have not found it prudent to allocate sufficient funds within their budgets to support gender empowerment.

Currently, a big threat looms over the sustainability of these programmes, as donor countries, most affected by the current economic crisis, are threatening to shut the taps for gender funds as they seek to divert the monies into supporting their local programmes.

It is sad indeed, that one of the main targets of Millennium Development Goals is likely not to be achieved by 2015, the year set for the goals. This year the MDGs will be marking 10th year and governments, which set the targets, will be meeting in September in New York.

It will be good to pay attention to what they will be saying because they are the ones who set the MDGs in 2000 and gave themselves 15 years within which the targets will have been met.

Having more women in positions of decision making through gender equality is MDG Three. But if it is these same governments that are now withdrawing funds, what will happen to women’s empowerment? This is the million dollar question that begs for an answer in September. It will be tragic indeed if the war will be lost all just because priorities have been misplaced.

A woman displays the ink mark on her finger indicating that she has registered as a voter. As the Referendum draws near, women are being encouraged to register in large numbers as voters. … By Jane Godia

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ven though the Draft Constitution passed by Members of Parliament is generating a lot of debate especially on the issue of the kadhis court and the abortion clause, many women have received it with joy.

This comes after the MPs’ 30 days, in which they were to make amendments to the Draft Constitution, expired without them making any changes in Parliament.

During the auspicious final day of debating the Draft Constitution in Parliament, the sessions were dominated by walkouts and sabotage with a bid to frustrate the 150 amendments brought forward by several MPs. But after days of debating, the MPs voted on Thursday to pass the Draft Constitution without amending a single clause to it.

New constitution It is in this regard that women are holding their breath in anticipation with regards to the new constitution which Kenyans have waited for in the past two decades hoping it will become a reality

when the country votes for it during the referendum in about two months time.

Even though issues that women had expected would make a change to their lives included devolution, abortion, right to life, resources distribution and Bill of Rights among others, these were never changed as per their expectation, the women have instead chosen to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty.

According to Hon. Martha Karua in her address to the women during a roundtable discussion, the Draft Constitution is better than the current one. “If you ask me to vote for change and progress, I will vote for the Draft Constitution because it has clauses that promise changes in the lives of women.”

Now that the MPs have left it for Kenyans to decide, through a referendum

whether or not they will pass the new Constitution, there is need to educate the public and the women in particular on what the Draft Constitution entails. And the Committee of Experts has said their next agenda is civic education.

The women are now hanging on, hoping that the amendments they had anticipated will be implemented eventually, but only after the Draft Constitution has been passed through the referendum.

For the women of Kenya, there could be no better document than the Draft Constitution as it was from the Committee of Experts (CoE).

In December last year, after the CoE, released the Harmonised Draft Constitution, women celebrated the gains therein for their gender. They feted as there could not have been a better document.

The women had come together on a platform of a common agenda and said that no matter which political leanings they belonged to, the women’s gains in the document overrode party affiliations.

The women had come together on a platform of a common agenda and said that no matter which political leanings they belonged to, the women’s gains in the document overrode party affiliations.

They were happy that the Harmonised Draft Constitution recognised affirmative action even though it did not give the 50-50 parity. The women also applauded the Chapter on the Bill of Rights which they argued had contextualised women’s rights within the human rights framework.

Gender equity The Harmonised Draft Constitution was equally beneficial to women in its Chapter 10 on the Representation of the People. The articles here directed that electoral systems shall satisfy gender equity in elected bodies as provided on implementing the principle that not more than two thirds of members of all elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. It states: “The Senate shall consist of women, elected two each by the regions.....”.

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Women leaders were able to meet former South African First Lady Mrs Graca Machel (inset) in Nairobi recently. She advised them on how to move ahead as a movement.

Machel challenges Kenyan women …By Jane Godia

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ith the on-going reform agenda in Kenya, women are at a crossroads and they are not pulling in the same direction.

During a dialogue meeting under the theme Enhancing Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations: Kenyan Women Roundtable Dialogue in Nairobi recently, Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela did not mince her words in asking Kenyan women to put their movement in order.

A divided house cannot stand: “You are so intelligent and bright. You must get together and push the women’s agenda,” Machel said, adding, and “this can only be done if you put your political differences and party affiliations in the back banner”.

The meeting was organised by Centre for Human Dialogue with the objective of picking lessons learnt from the Kenyan mediation process after the disputed elections. Most importantly, was capturing the aspect of women’s participation in the process of reconciliation and national cohesion.

Negotiation team The Kenyan process has been referenced to as the most statistically representative peace process with 25 percent representation of women on the negotiation teams. The warring factions, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Party of National Unity were represented by Ms Sally Kosgei and Martha Karua respectively. Karua eventually left the team but was replaced by Mrs Beth Mugo. Machel was the only woman mediator.

The former First Lady said that Kenyan women must be at the forefront in pushing for peaceful settlement. However, she appreciated the fact that as a

member of the team of eminent persons they pressed upon the warring factions that women must be included during the peace negotiations. This was in line with the UN Resolution 1325 that stresses on women being part of the teams negotiating for peace.

Machel joined Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Benjamin Mkapa as eminent persons to resolve the post elections crisis that called for international intervention.

Formal engagement However, it was later said that women negotiators did not link smoothly with women outside the table. There was also lack of a formal engagement structure to link these two cadres of women.

Machel is remembered for having played a critical role to ensure that the team heard women’s concerns.

But the former First Lady has had a score to settle with Kenyan women because, according to her, they are only good at arguing but doing little to push their common agenda.

“You should stop debating and concentrate in dialogue so you are able to work as women and as a nation,” the former First Lady advised. She added: “Women are the womb of the nation and you will not make a move if the fragmentation and polarisation still exists.”

She asked the women not to allow male politicians to dominate and that

they must engage in scenario building.

Cautioning that the next general elections are drawing nearer, Machel said women cannot go to elections divided. “You must go to the polls with an understanding of what elections mean for us as women,” she said.

Amazed at the clarity in which the women argued out issues that touch on them, Machel was worried that even during the post-election crisis things that were discussed at independence were still being discussed now, over 40 years later.

The women present drawn from politics, legal fraternity, peace building, health, finance, reforms and media among other areas all agreed that the advice from an older sister was right.

They were conscious to the fact that if they went into elections without a proper charter, they will not be able to look each other in the eye if violence were to break out again. The post elections violence of 2007 was still fresh in the minds of many.

As if in agreement, the women who were present said: “We will not have done anything to stop the violence but we will continue blaming the politicians.”

Politics and civil society And while women in politics and those in civil society have viewed each other suspiciously, the call was for sisterhood and that they should understand each other.

“You should stop debating and concentrate in dialogue so you are able to work as women and as a nation. Women are the womb of the nation and you will not make a move if the fragmentation and polarisation still exists.”

—Graca Machel, peace mediator

According to Ms Njoki Ndung’u, a former nominated MP and a member of the Committee of Experts: “The civil society organisations (CSOs) tend to treat politicians with contempt and vice versa. CSOs must understand politicians if they want politicians to take them seriously.”

Njoki said: “Between women politicians and women in the CSOs, there are gray areas. Politicians feel they have been ignored and that CSOs may be competing for their space.”

It emerged that there was need to speak about the unspoken agenda between these two groups. Women were asked to learn how to engage as the women’s agenda cannot be moved on a platform with partisan interests.

One third representation Machel asked the women to keenly look at what their agenda is. It was agreed that as long as the women have one third representation, they should move to the next agenda.

Executive Director of Kenya Human Rights Commission, Ms Muthoni Wanyeki, said the problem emanates from the fact that women find it difficult to move from service provision to advocacy.

“The women’s take in the crisis of democracy was missing. We do not have a deep position in democracy as women unless we have certain ideas or agendas,” Wanyeki reiterated.

A political activist, Dr Josephine Ojiambo, said that to engage fully in women’s issues, they “need to go beyond women and engage with men who are capable of pushing the women’s agenda”.

But Mary Wandia, Gender Justice Leader Oxfam GB/pan African Programme posed the challenge of creating a space that they can engage as women from various sectors.

She said: “This is the bigger chal-

lenge. We need this space with rules of engagement. We need the space where we are able to engage each other, dialogue and meet half way.”

However, Ms Debra Okumu of the Caucus for Women’s Leadership said the space is there but wondered how to use it. “Women from the movement join politics through political parties and this becomes a stumbling block as in politics it goes beyond women’s issues.”

It must be remembered that there has been high level representation and involvement of Kenyan women leaders both politically and in civil society.

Civil society women successfully influenced the outcome of track one by informing Agenda Four issues such as women’s participation in peace building and reconciliation as well as by demanding for a truth and justice process for victims.

The role of the Kenyan women in civil society in the Kenyan National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process was critically important in shaping Agenda Four, which calls for reforms that address the root causes of the violence.

Political parties A few lessons can be learnt from these women in terms of how they were able to influence the process despite their polarity based on ethnicity and political parties.

And with tensions in Kenya still high and elections coming soon, the women of Kenya must, as Machel put it, act as the womb of the nation and ensure that peaceful coexistence hold the fabric of the country.

And Margaret Shava, a commissioner with Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission said: “Let us identify commonalities and where there are synergies for us to work together as women.”

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Mama Beijing

Gertrude Mongella personifies Platform for Action …By Rosemary Okello

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itting pensively among the audience at the two days Global NGO Forum which took place prior to the UN conference on Beijing Platform for Action in New York last month, she is inconspicuous among the many participants.

But Gertrude Mongella, the former Secretary General of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women was content with the activities around her in that the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), which she witnessed being born was still creating waves 15 years later.

“Today’s event has been a nostalgic one in that it reminded me when in Beijing I told the women that a movement has began and 15 years later I am still witnessing a movement of women organising around the Beijing Platform for Action,” said Mongella.

“Even though the implementation of the BPfA has been slow and has not gone on well the way we envisioned it, what is gratifying is that the document has never been contested and what many governments have been doing is to go around it,” she explained.

For Mongella, the 1995 Fourth Conference on Women was a giant leap from the Third UN Conference in Nairobi in 1985 where they contextualised their issues from an African perspective.

Outcome document The Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies (NFLS), the outcome document of the conference became the benchmark for the development of the Beijing Platform for Action where it informed sections on economic, political, social and legal aspects of women’s lives.

During this meeting, Mongella was the Secretary General to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

Women’s issues have, therefore, been close to Mongella’s heart as her experiences bear witness; In 1996-1997 she was UN UnderSecretary and special envoy to the Secretary General of the United Nations on women’s issues and development.

In the same year, 1997, she became the senior advisor to the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa on gender issues.

This explains her remarks while speaking in New York during the Beijing

+15 Review Conference when she said: “The women from all over the world came together in a clarion call which stated women’s issues are global and universal and the Platform for Action was a powerful agenda which had carefully developed strategies for the empowerment of women.” She added: “It called for the mainstreaming of gender perspectives in all policies and programmes. It also focuses on the concrete measures to address the issues identified as critical areas of concerns worldwide.”

Mongella said the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action is the responsibility of governments, and is of the opinion that time has come to document what has been done in line of the implementation of the Platform for Action both from the government side and from the NGOs.

Beijing agenda She reiterated: “We cannot allow the Beijing spirit to die in the face of emerging challenges like the economic meltdown, climate change and violence against women which is on the increase.”

She added: “We must continuously use the frameworks within the platform to hold our governments accountable in making sure they ratify and domesticate all the international conventions and instruments which they have signed.”

Mongella face is not only seen in the Beijing agenda. There is more.

She was the founding president of Pan African Parliament Union and says that Africa has made her proud in terms of implementing the 50-50 UN Solemn Declarations on women and leadership.

She particularly cited the SADC region for having adopted the Gender and Development Protocol as the instruments for mainstreaming gender equality where results are now being realised in countries like South Africa and Rwanda among others.

“If Africa can do it, the rest of the world can ensure the 50-50 parity on women’s leadership. Women are ready to take their place and be part of governance within their locality,” Mongella reiterated.

She has not wavered in her beliefs; as the president of Pan African Parliament she believed in quality leadership coming from women. She was then quoted as saying: “If you want to be a leader, you have to be clear in what you want and what you stand for. You must

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On devolved governments, it was noted that the issue of devolution is one of the major chapters that will have direct positive implications on women’s participation in decision making.

These are just among the gains that women celebrated in December. However, after the Parliamentary Select Committee reviewed the document, they made certain changes that deflated the women’s spirit of happiness.

While the CoE had properly entrenched the issues of national values, principles and goals that included entrenching a culture of inclusion of vulnerable populations as well as ensuring equality for women and other marginalised groups such as the disabled, the PSC draft recommended the removal of this clause among others. It relocated the principle of no more than two thirds of the same gender on general principles for electoral systems and processes.

The women leaders, in a memorandum had demanded the clause on the provisions as expressed by the CoE be upheld in the Draft Constitution that will be represented to Kenyan that will be presented to Kenyans in the forthcoming referendum.

The women had also expressed concern over the composition of the National Assembly. They indicated that out of the 349 seats, only 47 are for women. This has, however, been clarified to mean that 47 seats will be women’s seats and these will not be contested.

What has been worrying women, however, is the expiration date of the Affirmative Action as proposed by the PSC which the women want removed as this mechanism should only expire after the expected level of equality has been achieved.

Principles of devolution

“If you want to be a leader, you have to be clear in what you want and what you stand for. You must stand for principle. Principle will never let you down.... you have to be able to choose what are the principles that are worth you dying for. And you have to add a little sacrifice. Leadership needs a lot of sacrifice — personal and public sacrifice.”

— Gertrude Mongella, former Secretary General of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women stand for principle. Principle will never let you down.... you have to be able to choose what are the principles that are worth you dying for. And you have to add a little sacrifice. Leadership needs a lot of sacrifice — personal and public sacrifice.”

International award

Mrs Gertrude Mongela with a friend in New York. She is recognisedf internationally as a women’s leader and politician.

All hopes are now on referendum

It is for this style of leadership that she has been recognised and awarded. In 2005 Mongella was awarded the Delta Prize for Global Understanding that was established to recognise individuals whose extraordinary ability to promote fruitful communication has rendered their region of the world a more peaceful place.

Mongella was recognised for having advanced intercultural and international understanding on the continent of Africa in exercising her responsibilities over many years as a political leader.

And she has used her political influence in every position she has held to promote human rights, and particularly the rights of women and children in Africa and around the world. The proclamation recognised her for having devoted her life to making the world a peaceful place.

But who is Gertrude Mongella? She was born in Ukerewe, Lake Victoria region of Northern Tanzania in 1945. In

1970 she graduated from the East Africa University in Dar es Salaam. After her graduation she joined Dar es Salaam Teachers Training College and was a tutor for four years. In 1974, she became a curriculum developer for the Dar es Salaam Institute of Education until 1978.

After this she became a schools’ inspector from 1978 to 1982.

However, even when she was working in the education sector, Mongella was already involved in politics. She was a member of the Central Committee and National Executive Committee of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the main ruling party in Tanzania from 1977 to 1992. During the same period, she was a member of the board of the Rural Development Bank.

Although Mongella’s main work was in the education sector in the mid-1970s, she was a member of the East Africa Legislative Assembly. Through the 1980s to 1990s she was a member of the Tanzania Parliament.

And now with age catching up with her, Mongella wants to see more young women take over the mantle in the women’s movement as was evident by her call, during the New York conference, for a greater presence of younger women when the Beijing +20 will be reviewed.

Extra information from the Internet.

The criteria for public finance as proposed by the PSC on revenue allocation from national government sets a minimum of 15 percent of total revenue. According to the women’s leaders “even in low income countries, this does not satisfy the threshold for equitable resource allocations and will further marginalise women and other vulnerable groups, defeating the principles of devolution”.

The women, in a memorandum that was also given to the CoE stated that the criteria for resource allocation should be left to legislation. “If there has to be a minimum threshold for resource devolution to county governments, it should be at least 40 percent of the national revenue, to adequately address Kenya’s development agenda.”

On the issue of culture, the women said that it was important for women and other marginalised groups who face perpetrations in the name of culture and traditions. They wanted the clause of culture to remain as captured by the CoE Draft.

The Bill of Rights remains contentious and the women demanded explicit recognition of the rights in the regional and international human rights instruments that Kenya has ratified.

The women are worried that women in the grassroots talk to too many people, and should the Draft constitution go to the referendum as it is, chances are that it cannot be passed since the Church is already raising issues with it, and it’s agreed that women form the biggest audience to the Church.

Yet as far as things stand now, this is the best document that addresses issues that touch to the core of the women’s soul. The women now have one big task ahead of them, civic education for people in the grassroots over the Constitution.

Currently the Interim Independent Electoral Commission has raised concerns over the few number of women who have registered as voters. They are calling on women to come out in large numbers and register as voters as this is what will enable the draft constitution pass.

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Gender funds at risk of running dry …By Arthur Okwemba

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s Kenya celebrated this year’s International Women’s Day, many did not know that funding for Kenyan NGOs and some of the government programmes were in jeopardy after a number of European countries started reconsidering their funding support.

In Sweden and Netherlands, countries known to provide massive funding towards gender programmes in Kenya and other African countries are reconsidering their funding position. The situation is worrying.

The current Swedish government recently cited the present economic crisis as a factor as they consider breaking funding agreements it had signed with NGOs. This means that the programmes these NGOs were supporting in Kenya have to be postponed or revised.

Many programmes and projects within the Ministry of Gender and the Gender Commission have been support-

ed by donor funds. And like many other such programmes, they too are facing a sustainability crisis.

The revelation was made at the United Nations 54th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women in New York early last month where the Kenyan government and NGOs were among the many participants.

In Norway, the collapse of the coalition government, in which one of the biggest supporters of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Three, the Labour Party was a member, has sent NGOs in this country into a panic.

There are real fears that if the right wing leaning party that has expressed little interest to fund development programmes outside The Netherlands win the next elections, then there may not be sufficient funds to support key NGO’s in Kenya.

This is not farfetched. The right wing politicians have on several occasions questioned why so much money should be used to fund programmes in Africa and Asia when back at home they are struggling with unemployment and oth-

Many programmes and projects within the Ministry of Gender and the Gender Commission have been supported by donor funds.

And like many other such programs, they too are facing a sustainability crisis. er problems in need of funds. To them, the 0.8 percent of their Gross National Income which they give out as Official Development Assistance (ODA) to African countries needs to be reduced. They argue that if NGOs want to raise money, then they can do so from other sources.

“At the moment, developments in the political arena have left us unsure about the fate of MDG 3 Fund which funds programmes of 45 international and regional organisations,” says Ms Ireen Dubel, HI-

VOS Programme Manager Gender, Women and Development.

The Fund, whose three year funding period comes to an end mid 2011, has been very instrumental in turning around the lives of many women in Kenya and Africa as well as safeguarding and enhancing their rights.

If the Fund fails to get future support from the Dutch government, it will send serious ripple effects thousands of miles away in Kenya.

“The Dutch government is reducing funding to the Dutch NGOs, which fund gender programmes in Kenya and other countries in the South. This problem might be exacerbated if a new government decides to go against the commitments made by the outgoing government,” says a worried Dubel.

The Association for Women’s Rights in Development study; Context and Trends Influencing the Funding Landscape for Gender Equality and Women’s Organizations & Movements, warns that donors are going to cut their gender funding in 2010 and beyond as part of the overall reduc-

tion in their ODA as they respond to the economic crisis.

Nevertheless, recent actions and statements of commitment made by various countries towards financing gender programmes are promising.

Spain’s $65 million and Norway’s $3.5 million bilateral contribution to the UNIFEM’s Fund for Gender Equality is one of the actions giving hope for gender programmes.

The Swedish International Development Agency, Irish, Foundations in the USA, the Bill Gates and Nike Foundations, Oxfam and ActionAid among other actors have expressed willingness to renew commitment to gender issues.

There are real fears that with the current financial crisis, these commitments might not to be honoured soon as these countries and individuals work to stabilise their economies and businesses.

Dubel says that under the current circumstances, the future funding of gender programmes calls for expanding the sources of funding to bring on board philanthropists and other new actors.

More room needed for political expression …By Jane Godia

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enyan women have a ray of hope if the new constitution should be passed having suffered years of political marginalisation, especially where declarations and implementation of the affirmative action have fallen on deaf years.

Currently, the Draft Constitution guarantees 47 seats for women. However, there is the possibility of the number being higher as there are those who will vie for elective posts, therefore, raising the possibility of having more women in parliament.

The fact that the constitution is calling for one third population of one gender gives women hope for a wider space for political engagement since they will also be nominated to the Senate.

In the current parliament out of 222 seats only 22 belong to women. This makes it a marginal 10 percent. The country should strive to close the 20 percent gap; a challenge as the African Union now calls for 50-50 parity.

Influential decisions Of significance to note though is that it has not been all rosy globally.

Reports emerging indicate that women still do not have the space in which they can express themselves in their capacity as decision makers. This is particularly critical in the political platform which acts as the podium through which women can make influential decisions and be involved in policy making as well as in other aspects of society advancement and or development.

As of November 2009, women held only 18.8 percent of seats in single/ lower chambers of Parliament globally.

Although these figures may seem like a

drop in the ocean, they are seen as modest improvement compared to 1995 when they were at only 11.3 percent.

According to the United Nations Secretary General’s report presented at the Beijing +15 meeting in New York to the Economic and Social Council: The increase in women’s parliamentary representation is not evenly distributed across regions even though member states have emphasised that the promotion of full and equal opportunities for women in decision making is a necessary pre-condition for sustainable development, peace and security.

The 30 percent target set by the Beijing Platform for Action has been met only in 24 countries globally. Kenya is among the countries that are yet to achieve this target. Further, within the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region, Kenya lags behind others. Rwanda, a country that suffered genocide is already leading in the world with over 55 percent women representation in parliament. Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan are already above 30 percent Globally, only one quarter of all parliamentary chambers have less than 10 percent women members. Nine chambers in the Pacific islands and Arab Gulf states have no women members.

In terms of senior leadership within parliaments, only 35 women preside

Hubbie Hussein (left), Executive Director Womankind, was among other women who joined forces to review the Beijing Platform for Action and also asked for women to get more political space. over one of the houses of the 187 existing parliaments.

Women underrepresented Unfortunately, despite increasing numbers of women in public and political life in all regions, women are still underrepresented at senior levels in all areas even though countries recognise the importance of women’s participation in decision making processes to democratic and economic processes.

In many countries, women’s political participation has been instrumental in developing gender sensitive policies and programmes. Member states report that women parliamentarians ensure attention to important gender perspectives in legislative processes.

The report notes that where quotas and other temporary measures such as

The report recognises persistence of gender stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes regarding roles of women and men, including women’s ability to lead as another significant barrier to achieving equal participation of women in decision making processes at all levels.

reserved seats have been taken, there has been a significant increase in the number of women in public life. However, inconsistent implementation of the quota regulations and provisions, including their uneven application across different levels of government and ineffective application of sanctions, have been a stumbling block.

The Secretary General’s report is a review of implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the outcomes of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly and its contribution to shaping gender perspective towards the full realisation of the Millennium Development Goals as mandated in the Economic and Social Council resolution 2009-2015.

The report recognises persistence of gender stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes regarding roles of women and men, including women’s ability to lead as another significant barrier to achieving equal participation of women in decision making processes at all levels.

The Beijing Platform for Action elaborated on the purpose of institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gave particular attention to the role of national machinery for “central policy-coordinating unit inside Government”.

While institutional mechanisms remain critical drivers for the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women, in most countries these mechanisms lack effective political support and have limited access to key policy and decision making processes; and that even where political support is strong, it is not always matched by resource allocations.

To create an enabling environment for women’s participation in decision making, constitution and legislation must guarantee equal access to public office.

Making institutions gender sensitive, through improving working methods and institutional cultures, would increase their ability to address gender equality issues in legislative and policy development.

The Secretary General has been requested by the Economic and Social Council to report, on annual basis, progress in mainstreaming gender perspective in the development, implementation and evaluation of national policies and programmes with a particular focus on priority themes including having women in power and decision making positions.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, as is the situation in many African countries, women continue to clamour for more political space from where they can be heard.

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

One step forward, one step backward …By Jane Godia Fifteen years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, there have been advances, challenges and setbacks.

According to the Secretary General’s report to the Economic and Social Commission read at the Beijing +15 review meeting in New York, poverty continues to be a challenge with responses indicating that women were more likely to be living in poverty.

Lack of legal provisions guaranteeing women’s economic rights, coupled with discriminatory customary laws hinder women’s economic empowerment and ability to move out of poverty.

However, states have taken actions to address poverty eradication by among other things looking into the needs and priorities of poor women in policy development and research. Safety nets to protect women and children from poverty have been established in Latin America, Asia pacific region and Europe through income support.

Challenges to the full implementation of gender sensitive poverty reduction strategies include resource constraints, unequal access to employment for women, illiteracy among women and women’s limited access to markets.

Gender stereotypes Education and training remain a priority for most countries and was looked at as key to national development strategies. Access to education increased globally for girls at all level, particularly in primary education. The survival rate to the last grade of primary education was nearly the same for girls and boys. However, prevalence of gender stereotypes continues to negatively affect the educational outcomes as well as career choices for both young men and women. In recent years there have been moves to promote gender sensitive and non-discriminatory education.

Despite encouraging trends, the gains have been uneven and challenges continue to prevent women and girls from exercising their right to education. Illiteracy remains a key issue for women, who account for nearly two thirds of 776 illiterate adults in the world.

States have recognised the need to have equal opportunities for women in decision-making as important for sustainable development. The number of women in parliament increased from 11.3 percent in 1995 to 18.8 percent in November 2009 which indicated a mod-

Quotas and temporary special measures such as reserved seats played a significant role in increasing the number of women in public life. Despite the increasing numbers of women in public and political life in all regions, women are still underrepresented at senior decision making levels in all areas.

est progress. However, the increase is not evenly distributed across regions. The greatest gains were in the Americas with 22.6 percent with sub-Sahara Africa having 17.8 percent. Rwanda became the first country in the world to elect a majority of women to its lower house of Parliament with 56.3 percent in September 2008.

Quotas and temporary special measures such as reserved seats played a significant role in increasing the number of women in public life. Despite the increasing numbers of women in public and political life in all regions, women are still

Women heads of civil society organizations in Africa were in New York where they presented the status of the continent with regards to the Beijing Platform for Action. underrepresented at senior decision making levels in all areas.

However, since 2005, the gender mainstreaming strategy has been reaffirmed and more firmly established as critical for the promotion of gender equality across all sectors and in all areas of public policy. However, institutional mechanisms for gender equality, including national machineries, in many countries lack political support and have limited access to key policy and decision making processes.

Since the review of the Beijing Plat-

form for Action in 2005, violence against women has become priority issue at global, regional and national levels. In the outcome of the 2005 world summit, states resolved to eliminate all forms of discrimination and violence against women and the girl child.

However, despite impressive efforts by numerous countries to address violence against women, this violation of women’s human rights persists, a number of states have had a rise in the number of reported cases of violence against women since 2005. The persistence of attitudes

and behaviours that perpetuate negative stereotypes, gender inequality and violence against women in all parts of the world is a significant challenge to preventing and eliminating violence against women.

The report is submitted in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 2006/9 that requested the Secretary General to submit to the Commission on annual basis a report on mainstreaming a gender perspective in the development, implementation and evaluation of national policies and programmes.

World is better off saluting strength of a woman

F

ifteen years ago, delegates from 189 countries met in Beijing for the UN Fourth World Conference on women. It was a call to action from the global community to work for the laws, reforms and social change necessary to ensure that women and girls have the opportunities to fulfil their God-given potential and contribute to the progress and prosperity of their societies. Women around the world answered that call.

In cities and villages and countries and continents, women are running domestic violence shelters and fighting human trafficking. They are rescuing girls from brothels in Cambodia, campaigning for public office in Kuwait, healing women injured in childbirth in Ethiopia, running schools for refugees from Burma, and rebuilding homes in the aftermath of earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

Without recognition or fanfare, and often with little support, women are working to improve the quality of lives. Their efforts are paying off. Today, more girls worldwide are in school. More women hold jobs. And more countries have passed

…By Hillary Clinton

laws recognising women’s equality.

But our progress is far from complete. Women are still the majority of the world’s poor, uneducated, unhealthy and unfed. They are the majority of the world’s farmers, but are often forbidden from owning the land they cultivate or accessing credit. Women care for the world’s sick, but women and girls are less likely to get treatment. They rarely cause armed conflicts but always suffer their consequences and are often excluded from peace talks. And violence against women remains a global pandemic.

The status of the world’s women is not only a matter of morality and justice.

It is also a political, economic and social imperative. The evidence is irrefutable: when women are free to develop their talents and contribute fully.

When women are free to vote and run for public office, governments are more effective and responsive. When women are free to earn a living and start businesses, they become drivers of economic growth.

When women are afforded the opportunity of education and access to healthcare, their families prosper. When

women have equal rights, nations are more stable, peaceful and secure.

In the US, we believe that women are critical to solving virtually every challenge we face, and that strategies that ignore the contributions of women have little chance of succeeding. We view the subjugation of women as a threat to the national security of the US and our world.

So we are integrating women throughout our work around the globe.

In Afghanistan, the participation of Afghan women in decision-making is critical. Which is why we have included a Women’s Action Plan to promote women’s leadership in both the public and private sectors to increase their access to education, health and justice and to generate jobs for women. In short, women are essential to securing a better future for Afghanistan.

Women are central to our effort to elevate development as a pillar of our foreign policy alongside diplomacy and defence. As those who grow the worlds food collect the water, gather the firewood and wash the clothes- and increasingly, as those who work in the factories, run the shops, launch new businesses, and create

jobs- women are powerful forces for social progress.

Women are a focus of three major US foreign policy initiatives. Our Global Health Initiative is a $63 billion commitment to improve health worldwide, and one of its key priorities is improving maternal and child health.

Our global food security programme is a $3.5 billion commitment to strengthen the world’s food supply and its ability for each market, so farmers can support their families and food can get to all people everywhere.

In response to the challenge of climate change, the US has pledged $100 billion a year by 2020. And while all people will feel the effects of climate change, they will fall particularly hard on women in developing countries.

Our plan seeks to make these women part of the solution.

The world cannot make progress if women and girls are denied their rights.

Hillary Clinton is the Secretary of State of the United States of America.

This article has been picked from the Daily Nation

6

Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Woman of courage Anne Njogu feted for spiritedly putting human rights on the spotlight

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s Ms Ann Njogu received the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award in Washington DC on International Women’s Day, many other women from all over the world were gathered in New York to mark the 15 years since the Beijing Platform for Action.

Njogu is a recipient of the award among 10 other women from Afghanistan, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Iran, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Zimbabwe.

The recipients of the IWOC Award faced their own challenges, poverty, ostracism, from their communities, persecution, arrests and even tortures.

For many Kenyans, images of Njogu being held at the Central Police Station will forever remain etched in their minds.

She was recognised for her work in seeking social transformation as well as for being at the forefront of seeking reforms in Kenya.

Njogu is the founding executive director of the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), a position that she has relinquished but now serves the organisation in the capacity of chair person.

The function was attended by United States First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton among other dignitaries, Below is the speech delivered by Njogu upon receiving the award: t is a great honour and humbling experience to be here to receive this award tonight. Great because this is a distinguished award that is dedicated to honouring women who have made a contribution globally and humbling because I am only aware that without the many women with whom I have had the privilege to work with at the grassroots in Kenya, it would not have been possible to celebrate anything much less for me to be here with you tonight. It is for this reason that I want to dedicate the award to all those women in Kenya who have simply refused to give up the hope for a better Kenya.

“I am talking about the woman from the urban shanties who has to wake up at 4.00am every morning to walk 20 miles to and 20 miles back from the market to fetch groceries to come back and sell the whole day to make a dollar; the woman who has to take care of her seven children all alone or the one who has to fend for her 10 children with her jobless and abusive husband all living in a one room shanty house;

“I understand that it is my duty and that of my generation to replace the present despair with a new hope in the continent of Africa; it is my duty to resist oppression and plant the flag of freedom in every homestead; it is my duty to challenge the massive inequalities that exist in my society and those of all other African states; it is my duty to stand up to grand corruption; to challenge police brutality and complicity in crime; it is my duty to prevent the recurrence of the post election violence in Kenya in the next general election; it is my solemn duty to prevent more and more children from the violence and violations that continue to be visited upon our people; it is my duty because where leaders cease being role models and sources of inspiration, we must turn inwards and look for that inspiration from within ourselves.”

“I

Cycle of poverty “To the rural poor who has to till tired ground to eke out a living to sustain a clan; to take her little daughter to school and avoid early marriage in the hope of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and abuse; “To the young girl who has to brave taunts from classmates to attend schools even when her dress is messed up by her menses because she cannot afford the benefit of modern hygiene such as sanitary pads which are no novelty in the developed world; “I am talking about the woman in the Kenyan urban shanties and rural poor who has to endure the terror of local chiefs and the extortion and abuse of local police every single waking day just to get along with their lives; women who pay tax to maintain these government officials but have no voice to control them or hold them to account because their MPs are too busy stealing from them or plotting on the next electoral violence to care. These are the women I work with every single day.

“But I am also talking about the middle class woman who is starting to ask hard questions about our social and economic inequalities; the young executive who has started discarding the notion that the public space is male space; or that it is only bad girls that venture into politics; “I am also talking about the Kenyan Youth, who have understood that the present and future of Kenya belongs to them. And that to believe otherwise would be to continually play to the plan of the political elite who have pigeonholed them to an exploited and manipulated falsehood that they can only exist to serve the whims and narrow political interests of the politician. A youth who have understood that their unemployment, exclusion, poverty and dire needs are not by default but by design of this political class.

—Ms Ann Njogu, human rights advocate “For we know that unless a new breed of leaders committed to a new kind of ethics and values that celebrate merit, excellence, service and accountability take over leadership, or unless, by the unlikely, divine intervention those currently in power are transformed, my generation’s sad story will be the story of my daughter’s generation. And the generations after.

“It is a combination of this fear and the inspiration I see in the eyes of mama mboga as she works through the day in the dusty shanty towns in Nairobi or as she toils away in the sun baked earth of Machakos that gives me the drive to keep going inspite of the unrelenting repression of government and police brutality. One of the great paradoxes of my country is that we have a government elected “democratically” but which is habitually undemocratic; a creature of movements such as ours but which has shown bad manners in dealing with those who seek to hold it against its promises.

“Kenya’s story is part of the sad African story, but in that story a new story is evolving, the story of a people who are determined to make a clean break from the terrible legacy of unaccountable leadership and predatory governments; a story of people who are increasingly rejecting ethnic and political patronage in favour of democratic and accountable government; a story of people who are seeking transformation and not sedation through

welfare; and it is a story of people who know that in Africa, we’ve got all the wealth we need to raise the continent from grinding poverty, disease and a sense of pervasive hopelessness into a prosperous land. A land from which no young woman or man will want to escape from to be an economic refugee in Europe, the US or anywhere else because it will be a land of opportunity.

“It is with this breed of Kenyans and Africans that I identify myself and my work with. It may be the Pioneers for Change, The C5, the Women and Youth Alliance, Bunge la Mwananchi, G10, KPTJ, among other progressive movements, but they are all united by one thing; to make sure that the transition in Kenya is substantive and not a vacuous formality.

“I have dedicated my time and energy at the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) and the Africa Community Development Media (ACDM) to make my contribution towards this great goal. I and my generation feel greatly privileged to be a point in our history where we can make a historic contribution.

“In this we are greatly motivated by the achievements of the US, the South East Asian Tigers and the economies of Latin America.

“This last Friday, March 5, 2010, I celebrated my 45th birthday away from home. However in the midst of celebrating this personal landmark, two grim realities hit me right in the middle of my eyes.

First, back home, my colleagues held a memorial service in remembrance of two of our fallen human rights defenders; GPO Oulu and Oscar Kingara both executed in cold blood on the same day last year (March 5, 2009) by state police in broad daylight right outside the University of Nairobi because of their dedication to bring to an end state sponsored terror. Student protests were met with a further execution of one of the students. To date state “investigations” have revealed nothing. It has joined the long list of unresolved politically motivated murders in Kenya.

“Such is the perilous reality of human rights defenders and the Kenyan public in my country today. The second reality was that my country’s life expectancy has fallen to 44 years. I am, therefore. lucky to be alive today!

Our Country Kenya “Kenya is indeed a beautiful, great and profound country situated in East Africa with a population of approximately 40 million Kenyans. Ever since we produced and exported the incumbent President of the biggest super power in the world — President Barack Obama, our claim to greatness was vindicated! Yes, we have a track record not just for producing and exporting Presidents, but it is in our country that you find such great names like Wangari Maathai — Continued on page 7

7

Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Anne Njogu’s journey of courage Continued from page 6

the environmentalist, our amazing athletes, the very hard working people, the vibrant civil society, rolling mountains and scenery, singing birds, great weather, wonderful natural resources and indeed some of the best tourists destinations in the world! Kenya has the potential to not only to feed her people but be the bread basket of the whole continent of Africa.

While it can have enough for everyone, poor leadership and governance, corruption, impunity and lack of accountability have determined that there is not enough for a few greedy men and women.

The high levels of inequality have determined that over 70 percent of the country’s resources are in the hands of a less than 10 percent of the population while the last 10 percent of the population own less than one percent of the country’s resources.

“It is a country where women provide over 70 percent of the total labour in the agricultural sector and yet, own less than five percent of the country’s land.

It is a country where over 47 percent of the country’s population live below the poverty line earning less than a dollar a day, with 70 percent of those extremely poor being women.

Majority marginalised “It is a country where the women and youth make the majority of populace and yet remain at the peripherals of decision making — a country that has 89 percent of its population below 45 years and yet this majority remain marginalised and excluded in governance, decision making et al.

“It is a country that has been seeking reforms of its key institutions of governance including the constitution but where the said reforms have remained a mirage due to state capture of the said instruments of reform. This enduring legacy has created and fertilised a culture of impunity, abuse and disregard to state institutions of governance, lack of accountability and a culture that disregards international norms and standards of governance and human rights protection. “The political system of first by the post, winner takes it all makes elections a life and death matter always in favour of a small very powerful clique of the political class.

“Many other institutions like the Cabinet, Parliament, Judiciary, police force, military including media and religious institutions have come under total and stifling elite capture. The outcome of this elite capture is a fractured political and social system, absence of transparency and accountability, mismanagement of state institutions and impunity that have eroded the national fabric resulting in serious tensions. Not surprising, therefore, that between December 2007 and March 2008, Kenya faced its worst political and governance crisis yet and almost degenerated to a state of total breakdown of law and order.

Human rights defenders The question of police brutality and complicity in perpetrating crime in general and violence against human rights defenders in particular is one of the biggest challenges within the existing Coalition government. The atrocities of the police are well documented; by the state human rights agency Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), United Nations Rapporteur on extra judicial killings; the government appointed Commission into Post Election Violence (CIPEV) which recommended a complete overhaul of the police force.

Earlier on at the conclusion of the investigations into the Post election Violence by the popularly as the Waki Commission (CIPEV), sadly, and instead of implementing the recommendations, the President responded by rewarding the then Commissioner of Police with a new

1. Anne Njogu is greeted by Mrs Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State Affairs.

2. Njogu was awarded at a ceremony attended by US First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

3. Njogu listens as another recipient of the awards gives her speech.

–Pictures from the Internet.

appointment and a promotion for officers implicated in sexual assault and violence against peaceful Kenyan protestors.

The story of GPO Oulo and Oscar Kingara is one of so many other human rights defenders in Kenya and in countries where there is no respect for human life, rule of law, democracy and accountability. It is the story of so many other human rights defenders who have paid and continue to pay heavy prices for exercising their fundamental and constitutional rights.

“When human rights activists in Kenya like in other countries like Zimbabwe, have sought accountability from the powers that be, the response of the authorities has been an escalating intransigence and violence, the violence of police dogs, tear gas, “disappearings”, exiles and even death.

We speak peace “Like Bishop Desmond Tutu said at the height of apartheid, “We who advocate peace are becoming an irrelevance when we speak peace. The government speaks rubber bullets, live bullets, tear gas, police dogs, detention, and death.”

“It is for this reason that while I humbly accept this award, I dedicate it to all the human rights defenders in Kenya.

They are the true champions and heroes of our struggle for change. They continue

to put their lives in harm’s way because they are convinced that a different and better Kenya is possible. A different and better Africa is possible and a different and better world is possible. Many of them like Oulu and Oscar have paid the ultimate price.

Dedication and commitment I also dedicate this award to my amazing A-team and staff at CREAW, ACDM, Para-legals, community educators and community news gatherers — without whom my work would be impossible. This award is your award for all your hard work, dedication and commitment!

I finally dedicate this award to my children Stephanie and Ted — who tearfully plead with me not to go out onto the street for fear that they might never see their mother alive again but who also stoically understand why I do the work that I do. They too like other Kenyans, are tired of being divided along tribal and other imaginary lines, tired of running into ideological vacuums and partisan roadblocks, tired of appeals to our worst instincts and greatest fears.

“It is too late to stop this movement.

Change must come!

“We hear the voice of the people of the United States of America urging us on. We hear the voices of the people of

Europe urging us on. We hear the voices of the peoples of the world urging us on; We see the changes taking place all over the world; We see nations rising from poverty and underdevelopment and creating economic miracles and we ask why not in Kenya? Why not in Africa?

“We see undemocratic nations being replaced by democracies and we ask why not in Africa? We see millions being hauled out of early death with benefit of modern medicine and we ask why not in Africa? We read about the immense wealth in the belly of the continent and the endless miseries of the people living above the grounds and again we ask why in Africa?

Like Kennedy, I belong to those who believe in the power of a dream.

Like him we dream of things that are yet to be and we ask why not?

Complicity in crime I understand that it is my duty and that of my generation to replace the present despair with a new hope in the continent of Africa; it is my duty to resist oppression and plant the flag of freedom in every homestead; it is my duty to challenge the massive inequalities that exist in my society and those of all other African states; it is my duty to stand up to grand corruption; to challenge police brutality and complicity in crime; it is

my duty to prevent the recurrence of the post election violence in Kenya in the next general election; it is my solemn duty to prevent more and more children from the violence and violations that continue to be visited upon our people; it is my duty because where leaders cease being role models and sources of inspiration, we must turn inwards and look for that inspiration from within ourselves.

We want our country back “And we must stand firm in our place in the queue and never drop the ball; it is our duty to pick up the challenge that has rung from DC and across the world, that time is now for a new generation of leaders to emerge and to take the onerous task of completing the change begun 20 years ago to democratise, bring prosperity to our nations and to protect the rights and freedoms of every person in my country and in my continent.

“It is a call I am willing to accept even if I were alone. For didn’t Rosa Parks shows us right here in the USA the amazing power of a solitary soul committed to end injustice?

A great Kenya for all is possible — for the dignity of (Wo)man and the destiny of democracy.

We want our country back!

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Hope for abused women ICC to prosecute post election violence perpetrators …By Duncan Mboya

T

A woman who has been displaced from her home following postelection violence is beaten by the police as she is forcefully evicted from the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) Camp. Many women suffered in the hands of security forces during the post-election violence.

he International Criminal Court prosecutor, Mr Louis Moreno Ocampo has been given the go ahead by the court’s judges to pursue 20 suspects in the Kenyan postelection violence.

The probe is set to begin in the coming months after the landmark decision was reached by a majority vote among the three judges. Ocampo is expected in Kenya in May. The judges, from the Pre-Trial Chambers granted Ocampo request to start investigations on crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the Republic of Kenya and these include rape and murder.

Ocampo will gather his own evidence before the prosecutions.

A team from the ICC outreach office led by Ms Maria Kamara was in the country to gather and provide accurate, factual and timely information as a follow up exercise since the last assignment in December, last year, following a commission of inquiry findings that investigated the facts and circumstances surrounding the violence and conduct of state security agencies in their handling of the violence.

For women like Elizabeth and Maureen the effects of the post-election crime are devastating. Many men as a result abandoned their sexually abused wives as others suffered psychological burden of powerlessness, hopelessness that left individuals who had experienced sexual violence feeling alone, not just for one moment in time, but possibly forever.

Elizabeth was among the women who were abused in the post-election violence, her ordeal in hands of youths from a community different from hers will forever remain etched in her memory many years to come. “A group of 10 men came into our house and found me and my husband chatting in the sitting room as our three children had travelled to Nyandarua to see their grandparents. They first killed my husband in defiance of my plea to spare him,” she narrated to the commission.

Elizabeth, a resident of Eldama Ravine, noted that the gang tore her trouser, lifted her and put her on the ground inside their house next to her husband’s body and raped her in turns.

“Some held my legs, others my hands while they raped me in turn. They cut my private parts with a panga to widen it following complaints by the second person who raped me that my private part was so narrow they were unable to penetrate properly,” she said.

While Elizabeth lost her husband to the gang, other women suffered consequential violence as their marriages broke

Louis Moreno Ocampo: ICC prosecutor.

He expects Kenya to round up all the 20 suspects once the court approves that they be arrested to answer charges of causing the violence that caused the deaths of over 1,500 people besides massive destruction of properties. down and they also lost their homes.

The story for Maureen W, a resident of Kibera slums in the heart of Nairobi is one of the most unexpected events as she contracted HIV after being raped by the General Service Unit (GSU) officers in turns.

She had gone out to look after her eight year old son after police had crashed violent protests in the slum and met GSU officials who asked her where she was coming from.

“Before I explained, one of the policemen grabbed me from behind and led me a few metres away and started raping me. He was joined by his colleagues and 10 of them ended up raping me in turns,” Maureen explained.

Maureen was at a loss as the people she expected to provide her with protection are the ones who attacked her.

The commission that was headed by Justice Philip Waki, gathered names of powerful individuals in politics, government, business, police and elsewhere whose role in the violence cannot be assumed or dismissed.

How the International Criminal Court works

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ccording to statutes that formed the International Criminal Court, States Parties or the United Nations Security Council may refer situations of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court to the Prosecutor.

The Prosecutor evaluates the available information and commences an investigation unless he determines there is no reasonable basis to proceed.

The Prosecutor may also begin an investigation on his own initiative. In doing so, he receives and analyses information submitted by a variety of reliable sources. If the Prosecutor concludes there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation, he asks a Pre-Trial Chamber to authorise an investigation.

The Prosecutor’s investigations

cover all facts and evidence relevant to an assessment of criminal responsibility. The Prosecutor investigates incriminating and exonerating circumstance equally and fully respects the rights of the accused.

During the duration of an investigation, each situation is assigned to a PreTrial Chamber. The Pre-Trial Chamber is responsible for the judicial aspects of proceedings. Among its functions, the Pre-Trial Chamber, on the application of the Prosecutor, may issue a warrant of arrest or a summons to appear if there are reasonable grounds to believe a person has committed a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court.

Once a wanted person has been surrendered to or voluntarily appears before the Court, the Pre-Trial Chamber holds a

hearing to confirm the charges that will be the basis of the trial.

Following the confirmation of charges, a case is assigned to a Trial Chamber of three judges. The Trial Chamber is responsible for conducting fair and expeditious proceedings with full respect for the rights of the accused.

The accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty by the Prosecutor beyond reasonable doubt. The accused has the right to conduct the defence in person or through counsel of his or her choosing. Victims may also participate in proceedings directly or through their legal representatives.

Upon conclusion of the proceedings, the Trial Chamber issues its decision, acquitting or convicting the accused. If the accused is convicted, the

Trial Chamber issues a sentence for a specified term of up to thirty years or, when justified by the extreme gravity of the crime and the individual circumstances of the convicted person, life imprisonment. The Trial Chamber may also order reparations to victims.

Throughout the Pre-Trial and Trial phases, the accused, the Prosecutor or a concerned State may appeal decisions of the Chambers as specified by the Statute. Following the decision of the Trial Chamber, the Prosecutor or the accused may appeal the decision or sentence as provided in the Statute. Legal representatives of victims, the convicted person or bona fide owners of adverselyaffected property may appeal reparations orders. All appeals are decided by the Appeals Chamber of five judges.

The Commission opted to hand over the report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct further investigations and give those named an opportunity to be heard.

“The evidence gathered is sufficient to meet proof required for criminal matters in this country and also may fall short of proof required for international crimes against humanity,” Waki said when he handed over the report to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

In his findings following numerous sittings in most affected parts of the country, the commission revealed that sexual violence against both women and men was the order of the day and this was compounded by gang rapes, sexual mutilation, loss of body parts and hideous deaths.

In post election violence over 1,500 people and hundreds raped and maimed.

“Some family members were forced to stand by and witness their mothers, fathers, daughters or sons being raped, killed and maimed as other contracted HIV after being sexually assaulted due to a breakdown of law and order,” the Waki report states.

Women were the greatest victims of the post election crimes and they are happy that they will justice done. Although only 22 suspects will be at The Hague, it is hoped that Attorney General Amos Wako will prosecute another 1,600 locally.

There are also some men who were either sodomised, forcefully circumcised, had their penises mutilated or lost their testicles as the acts were performed to punish them.

According to Kamara, the outreach unit is responsible for direct interface between the court and the affected people, especially the media to help manage the expectations of the people.

“We are here to dispel rumours and misconceptions around the information that is so far gathered by the ICC,” she said in Nairobi.

Kamara clarified that they are not investigators but only out to come up with information that is factual for the benefit to all people.

Now that the judges have given Ocampo the powers to probe, the court will have to listen to people’s views, read, analyse, assess, review and evaluate all cases that are brought before it to avoid making errors.

The 2007 post election violence has left many orphans and widows in a dilemma with majority vowing never to take part in the General Elections.

Kamara revealed that the ICC will host a review conference in early June to look into how to tackle crime of aggression which state parties did not define when they met in Rome in 1998 when they created the Rome statute.

She, however, noted that the ICC does not have mechanisms for the protection of witnesses currently until the prosecutor is given the mandate to prosecute culprits of the 2007 violence. She said that the role lies squarely with the government as it is the custodian of all citizens.

The women who were affected in the post election in a can now rest in peace now that they will be protected by Ocampo as witnesses when they identify their aggressors.

Kenya is expected to round up all the 20 suspects once the court approves that they be arrested to answer charges of causing the violence that caused the deaths of over 1,500 people besides massive destruction of properties. .

At the moment the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights are currently hosting three people who are believed to be key witnesses when the case comes up in the Hague, Netherlands anytime from this week.

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

TJRC is not a court of law …By Duncan Mboyah

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he TJRC sessions are designed to create awareness and sensitise the various citizen constituencies on the role, mandate, mode of engagement and outcome of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission. The Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission is, therefore, not a court of law.

Speaking during a meeting attended by women’s groups in Nairobi recently, one of a long series of meetings with various interest groups, TJRC Secretary and CEO, Ms Patricia Nyaundi, urged women to take advantage of the TJRC’s mandate to have their human rights violations recorded and where possible reversed and reparations made. Nyaundi called on members of the public to come forward and present their views adding that the Commission’s work is not about prosecution of witnesses.

“Our final report will only make a recommendation that will be presented to the government. This recommendation will purely depend on evidence emanating from members of the public,” she noted. “For the first time there has been public admission of gender specific crimes as indicated in the WakiCommission report on post-election violence,” Nyaundi said.

She explained: “Women in this country have been marginalised for a long timeandeither had their rights denied or abused. The Commission is a perfect vehicle to have your story told for posterity in an accurate, complete and historical record.”

The women drawn from various parts of the country including Eastern andCoast provinces as well as parts of Nairobinarrated various ways in which they felt that their rights had been violated.

In response to queries on the difference between theTruth Justice and Reconciliation Commissionand previous ones whose reports had ended up in obscurity, Nyaundi pointed outthat the TJRC had inbuilt mechanisms to ensuretransparency andimplementation.

Monitor implementation The TJRC Act is very clear that the Commission will submit its final report to the President and be made public within 14 days. It will also be tabled in Parliament by the Minister within 21 days after publication.

Nyaundi added: “A parliamentary implementation committee will be set up to monitor implementation of the recommendations and the minister will furtherbe required to report on implementation to Parliamentwithin three months ofreceipt ofthe report and twice a year thereafter.”

The meeting was held at the All Africa Conference of Churches.Other groups participating will be drawn from the youth and children networks, religious groups, people with disabilities, civil society and professionals and institutions such as the Police, Judiciary.

“Work is going on at the Commission withat least six Commissioners coming in daily as well as engaging with various important stakeholders. We are rolling out our civic education and are finalising provincial visit plans,” Nyaundi told participants at the training session.

The Executive Director of League of Muslim Women of Kenya Ms. Maimuna Mwidau appealed to TJRC to allow people submit their grievances adding that most women who intend to appear may not give evidence in broad daylight for fear of victimisation.

“The commission must also avail translators as most women may not be capable of giving evidence in Kiswahili or English languages,” she added.

And the Chair of Kibera Women for Peace and Justice Ms Jane Anyango said the TJRC and other relevant organisations need to advice the Government to consider compensating the victims if peace and harmony is to be maintained amongst Kenyans.

Ms Betty Murungi, first vice chair person of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission taking her oath of office. She resigned her position and has since been replaced by Ms Tecla Namachanja (inset).

TJRC elects new vice-chairperson …By Kenyan Woman writer The Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission has appointed Mrs Tecla Namachanja Wanjala as the new vice chairperson following the resignation of Ms Betty Murungi.

At a meeting last week, Namachanja was elected to replace Murungi who resigned from the position on March 29.

Murungi had said she could no longer continue serving in that position after having publicly criticised Chairman Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat.

Announcing the appointment of Namachanja Kiplagat said: “All the Commis-

sioners and I have accepted the resignation of the former Vice Chair, Betty Murungi with much regret. I would like to emphasise my appreciation of her support, commitment and hard work while in that role.”

Kiplagat said a key function of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission was to seek the truth and clear away falsehood. “This has caused a lot of problems between people and communities in Kenya and is, therefore, a priority for the Commission,” he explained.

He added: “It is, therefore, perfectly in order for any member of the Commission or anyone else to be investigated to determine a falsehood or truth.” He said no

previous reports by Commissions or Task Forces were gospel truth and that the Commission would “examine and determine the truth and factualness of these reports”.

On the work of the Commission, Kiplagat said it was on course with the civic education programme in Coast and Nairobi provinces completed.

“We are continuing with the civic education and awareness creation which is the first phase of our leading to public hearings,” he added.

He said the Commission is proceeding with shortlisting for the recruitment of secretariat staff and that they would be in place by July 2010.

On her resignation, Murungi regretted that she was unable to continue “given the public position I have expressed with regards to matters facing the Commission’s chair”.

She had earlier asked the Commission to elect another Commissioner to serve as Vice Chair but stated she would continue to serve “in my role as Commissioner until we have resolved or concluded our internal processes regarding these matters”.

According to Section 11(2) of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Act, the Vice Chair is elected by the Commissioners from amongst their number.

Truth Commission to work without inhibitions …By Jane Godia

T

he search for truth and justice in Kenya cannot be fulfilled if the Indemnity Act remains operational because it would hamper the work of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

However, reacting to recent inquiries to the Act, the TJRC has stated the Indemnity Act of 1972 (Chapter 44 of the Laws of Kenya) will not affect the ability to fulfil its mandate.

The Commission indicated in a press release it had reviewed the terms of the Indemnity Act as well as its powers and obligations under the TJRC Act. “The Commission takes the position that the Indemnity Act does not and will not affect the ability to fulfil its mandate of investigating all violations of human rights committed throughout the entire country,” said Prof Ronald Slye, a commissioner.

The violations include those that occurred between 1963 and 1967 in the areas covered by the Indemnity Act which are North-Eastern Province, and the Isiolo, Marsabit, Tana River and Lamu districts. According to TJRC Chairman Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, the Commission met to discuss the Indemnity Act and current efforts in Parliament to have

it repealed.

“The Commission was unanimous in concluding that as a body dedicated to justice for all Kenyans, it unreservedly and wholeheartedly supported efforts by Members of Parliament to repeal the Indemnity Act,” Kiplagat explained.

Slye elaborated: “Even though the Indemnity Act does not affect us, we add our voice to those who say it should be repealed.”

He pointed out that the Indemnity Act did not bar the TJRC from among other things: • Inquiring into, investigating, analysing or making recommendations with respect to human rights violations that happened in the areas during the period covered by the Indemnity Act; • Recommending reparations for harm suffered as a result of said violations; • Identifying perpetrators of said violations; and • Recommending prosecution of any alleged perpetrators.

Slye said the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Act of 2008, as amended, clearly required that the TJRC to look at all violations of human rights that occurred between 12 December 1963 and 28 February 2008.

“Under basic principles of statutory construction, when two pieces of legisla-

“The Commission was unanimous in concluding that as a body dedicated to justice for all Kenyans, it unreservedly and wholeheartedly supported efforts by Members of Parliament to repeal the Indemnity Act.” —Bethul Kiplagat

tion cover the same issue and are in conflict, the later legislation is the operational law unless the later legislation makes clear that the earlier legislation is still to apply,” Slye explained.

He added: “Parliament chose not to subject the TJRC to the Indemnity Act and made clear that the TJRC is to establish a complete historical record of violations during the entire mandate period, including the period covered by the Indemnity Act.” He noted that even by its own terms, the Indemnity Act did not apply to the mandate of the TJRC as it specifically stated that its provisions did not prevent “the institution…of proceedings on behalf of the Government”. (Indemnity Act, Art. 4). “In creating the TJRC, the government instituted proceedings on its own behalf. Thus even by its own terms, the Indemnity Act does not apply to anything undertaken by the TJRC,” he said.

Slye said the TJRC was required to look at violations of fundamental human rights, including summary executions and sexual violence among other atrocities.

“Such acts clearly violate both Kenyan and international law and by definition cannot be undertaken in good faith. The Indemnity Act specifically applies only to those acts done in good faith in furtherance of the public interest,” he explained.

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Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Women bring peace to the table …By Abdullahi Jamaa n times of conflict, women and children are the biggest casualties.

And North Eastern women are not an exception.

The women have suffered the most in this part of the country where fights range from water point disagreements to conflict over pastures and with more intensity during clan wars.

This is in spite of their passionate struggle for peace, a motivation inspired by a desire to make a difference by encouraging hostile communities to embrace a sense of togetherness.

“We have struggled for peace for so long and our efforts have not been in vain,” says Mrs Arfon Dahiir, a peace crusader with Mandera Women for Peace.

She says: “If women begin showing the road to peace, tribal conflict will be history in this country.”

Dahiir, 50, leads hundreds of troubled mothers who have never had any respite from decades of tribal conflict that has ravaged most parts of North Eastern Province. The semi-arid region has seen a repeated cycle of crimes, unnecessary bloodshed, displacement of vulnerable people and destruction of property.

“Clan wars have degenerated in our community and the worst affected have been women, children and the elderly,” explains Dahiir.

Sheer grinding poverty, widespread displacement and increased number of orphans, particularly within the periphery of the border town, is a testimony to the insecurity that saturates this region.

I

delicate balance The seamless borders with such as Ethiopia and Somalia have further aggravated the problem. A lot of stability that reigns in Somalia and Southern Ethiopia has had a spill over effect to the region. In the past one decade alone, an onslaught of increased clan hostility has transformed the North Eastern district to a battle zone. The wars that first begun in Mandera in the early 1980s have resumed with a vengeance, and hope for lasting peace hangs on a delicate balance.

In 2008, rival Garre and Murule clans went on rampage maiming relatives and killing their own just to settle selfish scores. About 21 people died and scores others were injured in an incident that took place in broad daylight.

“Neighbour attacked neighbour, women were raped and not even the pregnant ones were spared from the orgy of violence. It was the worst fight that I have

ever seen and I could not believe this was happening between two clans that shared the same religion,” says Dahiir.

In their peace building activities, the women conduct a wide range of activities associated with capacity building, reconciliation, and societal transformation.

“We have developed homegrown solutions to put across our peace messages.

For instance, we visit homes and bring women together to discuss how we can avoid future conflicts,” says Dahiir.

Their most pronounced activity is the Somali traditional healing processes that they use to portray the social fabric of the largely conservative community.

“Understanding peace building for us is an umbrella concept that encompasses not only long-term transformative efforts, but also peacemaking and peacekeeping,” she explains.

Their bold campaign includes early warning and response efforts, violence prevention, advocacy work, and humanitarian assistance. “For instance during the recent tribal conflicts between Garre and Murale, we visited the bereaved families from both the warring clans, to tell the community that women do not belong to the conflict, this is a traditional way of healing the wounds,” explains Ms Abdia Sheikh.

In some cases, they facilitate cease fire agreement that will enable the establishment of durable peace and to try to prevent the recurrence of violence by addressing root causes and effects of conflict.

A set of social and structural initiatives are often an integral part of their post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation. Their aim is to talk to both pacifists

and non-pacifists within the community in their desperate hunt for sanity.

Even as the women work towards eliminating clan wars, their efforts might not pay off yet. Security analysts say demarcation of parliamentary constituencies and creation of new districts are already dividing the pastoral communities along tribal lines. “The creation of new settlements as districts are a ticking time bomb as every clan has created their own district,” explains Mr Abdi Ahmed.

remain apprehensive In the barren Mandera, a town largely consumed by constant wars that are often fuelled by competition for basic resources, many people remain apprehensive over the feasibility of lasting peace.

This is a story familiar to women across the impoverished Northern Kenya where hostilities among herding communities has pushed families to a corner in circumstances that are already too tough due to the perpetual long dry spells.

These wars have been a harsh lesson for the vulnerable groups that include the women searching for lasting peace.

In a new strategy, these courageous women have resorted to confronting the warring factions amid discriminatory cultural and traditional practices.

Further, the women are facilitating communal unity among rival clans by bringing together members of the largely pastoralist communities to embrace unity.

They have had to tolerate hostility from men in power, which has often translated into threats and widespread sexual violence commonly used as weapons during tribal conflicts.

In spite of the challenges, their focus has not shifted from their goal to achieve peace for the benefit of their communities.

“There is an urgent need for peace among the local clans in Mandera and the region at large,” says Mrs Fatuma Aliyow. “Clan hostility is so traumatising that many women are unable or unwilling to play their rightful roles. We realise that in every war, women are the biggest victims.”

Mandera Women for Peace is grouping women to participate fully in peacebuilding. Their participation in the recent negotiation between Gare and Murule clans achieved notable success.

“The conflict in 2008 was the worst, even religious leaders failed to intervene between the warring factions,” says Mrs Abdia Sheikh Hassan.

Despite the harsh reality of conflict and suffering in a society largely shattered by negative feminism, these women have a bold agenda to push through — peace and solidarity for their kin and kith.

“Our ongoing struggle portrays the advent journey to peace, we are using traditional healing process among the war victims,” says Mrs Amina Hassan, the women’s coordinator. “This traditional strategy to realise unity is the epitome of non-violence and the groundwork for development.”

The United Nations Security Council recognises the role that women play towards peace building. Resolution 1325 of the Security Council recognises that women and children account for the majority of those affected by armed conflict as refugees and also as

internally displaced persons. There is a further recognition that they are increasingly targeted by combatants and armed elements.

Importantly, Resolution 1325 reaffirms the significant role that women play in prevention and resolution of conflicts and peace building. It stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the promotion and maintenance of peace and security and the need to increase their role in decision making with regards to conflict prevention and resolution.

Though they may not know it, the Mandera women are actually putting Resolution 1325 to practise. They have been recognised for the role in peace building and were recently invited to a national peace forum in Naivasha as peace emissaries. Their mission? To help prevent a return to what could be similar to the post-election violence that hit the country in December 2007.

important members “Having played a significant role in cooling the tempers during the shameful clashes in Mandera, the women are now viewed by the international community as important members of society as they are ready to bring peace by all means necessary,” says Hassan.

Although hopeful that their efforts will bear fruits, they are not oblivious of the tough journey ahead.

“We know it is very difficult to achieve peace but we have identified the role we can play as women and this is an important step towards uniting our people,” says Dahiir.

Women peace negotiators from Mandera. From left: Arfon Dahiir, Fatuma Aliyow and Abdi Sheikh Hassan.

People in the North want to see injustices addressed …By Ruth Omukhango

F

or years, the women of Northern Kenya have suffered in silence with very little attention given to their grievances.

Coupled with both political and interethnic conflict, the women have suffered double tragedy and now are eager to address their grievances to the Committee of Experts (CoE) as well the Truth and Justice Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) in the hope that their issues will be heard and implemented.

These events came out clearly in a workshop organised by the Pastoralists’ Journalists’ Association (PAJAN) and African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC) that brought together victims of the Bulla Punda massacre in Garissa drawn from various radio listening groups to create an understanding of the TJRC and the Constitution.

The participants narrated their experiences and how they went through a circle of conflict situations in Northern Kenya that has affected communities in the

districts of Wajir, Mandera and Garissa where over 3,000 lives have been lost in the clashes and worse still, women have been abducted, raped and some of them used as conflict concubines while clan wars took place.

The women painfully recalled how innocent Kenyans were rounded up and held without water and food in the scorching sun for seven days before being killed during the infamous Bulla Punda and Wagalla massacres of 1984.

On February 10, 1984 Kenyan security forces descended on the two regions and rounded up innocent Somali community members in what they termed as a security operation to disarm the area residents.

The residents were held without water and food in the scorching sun for seven days before they were sprayed with bullets.

According to the women, the victims were ordered to lie down while they were being tortured, maimed and killed.

Women victims had gun butts inserted into their private parts and were gang raped by security forces before they were

killed, maimed and left with lifetime scars and marks on their bodies.

The security forces collected dead bodies ostensibly to bury them in mass graves so that evidence of mass killings could be covered. However, an Italian nun Analina Toneli assisted the victims who managed to escape from the airstrip. She also collected several dead bodies that were thrown in the bush ready for mass burials.

The massacre attracted both local and international condemnations with various human rights groups calling for actions on the perpetrators of the massacre.

The Government has denied wrong

Women victims had gun butts inserted into their private parts and were gang raped by security forces before they were killed, maimed and left with lifetime scars.

doing and efforts to bring the perpetrators to book have been fruitless as they walk scotfree.

Years later, the effects of the conflict are laying a heavy toll on the women of Northern Kenya. While most of the women lost their husbands and are widowed, the burden of taking care of the rest of their families remains an uphill task for those who escaped the ordeal.

Most of the women survivors are bread winners for their families and can barely put food on the table because of the looming poverty.

Giving her testimony, Ms Asha Ahmed, a survivor of the massacres narrated her ordeal with the military force when she was forced out of her house in Bulla Iskaden, ordered to lie down in an empty classroom where she was raped by a group of soldiers before being left unconscious.

“The bleeding left me unconscious but the rape made me escape death during the Bulla Punda Massacre. My family perished in the attack,” she recalls.

Although she survived death, Ahmed like other women survivors is still trau-

matised by the events of that day. According to the participants, some of them were tortured by soldiers who inserted guns into their private parts. The incident left many traumatised and a majority of them will always run to the bush when they see a military vehicle or men from different parts of the country.

Besides, the survivors have been left with lifetime scars and marks on their bodies while others lost limbs. Worse still, there are others are still bedridden as explains Amina Ali who narrowly escaped the massacre but also lost her family.

Despite the pain and trauma, the survivors are eager to present their views to the commissions. However, they expressed reservations on the credibility of the newly formed commissions and hoped that an independent body would be formed to administer justice.

With an understanding of how the commissions functioned, the participants hoped that the TJRC would work without favours to address various injustices in Northern Kenya apart from the massacres.

11

Issue Number 04 • April 2010

An amazing first

Chapter on citizenship will confer women to become Citizens for this first time in Kenyan history

Church divided over abortion debate …By Duncan Mboya

B

Kenyan women at the Beijing conference. Many Kenyan women are happy that the new Constitution has taken into consideration women’s needs and that women will now be recognised as citizens of this country. …By Rosemary Okello

A

s Members of Parliament continue to debate on the Draft Constitution, many Kenyans are awaiting the outcome with bated breath. If the draft is passed by Parliament as expected, it will go down in the history of this nation that for once women of Kenya will become citizens of this country.

So serious is the issue of women and citizenship such that even the First Lady, Lucy Kibaki is not a citizen as per the constitution in that women’s citizenship is derived from a male relative be it a father, son, uncle, grandfather or an uncle. The scenario also applies to the wives and daughters of the members of parliament.

These kinds of barriers have made it harder for women to get a national a birth certificate, national identity card and even a passport. Within the Ministry of Immigration, no passport file is under any woman’s name, they are either under the name of the father or that of the husband.

The barrier has been so bad that it has also hindered women’s empowerment especially when it comes to property ownership, and in some cases even accessing credit facilities.

As in the case of Mary, when her young child wanted to get the identification card, she was told that the child would have to go with the father’s ID. “I am a single mother, where do I get the father’s ID from?” posed a frustrated Mary.

And for Jane who wanted to get a passport to travel outside the country, her husband had to sign the passport form and the file had to be opened in her husband’s name. And in cases where a woman wants to change her name in the national identity card to reflect her husbands, she has to go physically with her husband to the registrar of persons for this to be effected apart from also arming herself with an affidavit.

But Chapter on Citizenship in the

Draft Constitution seeks to amend all these in that the preamble will correct these glaring anomalies. It states that: “Every citizen is entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship, subject to the limits set out in or permitted by this Constitution.”

Apart from the fact that women will now be able to confer citizenship to their children whether married to a foreigner or a Kenyan, this section also allows women to obtain important national documents like the birth certificate, ID card and even passport without always being appended to a male relative.

The issue of women and citizenship has been a thorny one stemming from traditional and customary laws where women were viewed as part of the property and also people without a fixed abode.

In his analysis on Struggles for Citizenship in Africa, Bronwen Manby notes that thousands of people living in Africa, and especially women, find themselves non-persons in the only state they have known.

“They cannot get their children registered at birth or entered into school or

Apart from the fact that women will now be able to confer citizenship to their children whether married to a foreigner or a Kenyan, this section also allows women to obtain important national documents like the birth certificate, ID card and even passport without always being appended to a male relative.

university, they cannot leave the country and some cannot vote because of lack of identity cards,” states Manby in his analysis.

This situation has been aggravated by the gender inequality laws within many countries in Africa, Kenya included, which do not allow women who marry non-citizens from passing their own citizenship to their children or husbands. The most unfortunate thing is that men can do the same without question.

However, Anurekha Chari from India argues that gendered citizenship involves an assessment of the binaries of the private-public and questions the way public are associated with material and private with cultural. It is concerned with the gendered access to infrastructure, housing and livelihoods.

According to Chari, citizenship is not just a certain status defined by a set of rights and responsibilities, it is also an identity. It is, therefore, an expression of one’s membership in a political community. It has become clear, however, that many groups such as black people, women, aborigines, ethnic and religious minorities, gays and lesbians all feel excluded from the ‘common culture’ despite possessing the common rights of citizenship. Women’s oppression is exemplified in the way women experience citizenship rights.

Feminist analysis, however, draws attention to the fact that, on the one hand, the state might grant citizenship rights to women and on the other, it is the nature of the society that would ultimately determine the extent to which citizenship rights can, in fact, be exercised. Poverty, discrimination and social exclusion all can undermine the benefits of citizenship.

In this regard, the women of Kenya who form over 60 percent of the population are looking up to Parliament to make their dream come true through the new constitution because for over 46 years since Kenya became independent, the women have never been citizens of Kenya.

arely one week after the Catholic Church through its leader in Kenya John Cardinal Njue petitioned President Kibaki for the removal of the clause on the right to life, the cry for the change in the draft constitution, is already causing a split ahead of the August 2010 referendum.

Welcoming the President during the installation of the new Bishop for Nakuru Diocese Maurice Makumba Muhatia recently, Cardinal Njue said that the sanctity of life was a serious issue and its phrasing in the draft constitution could give room for the procurement of abortion.

Njue said that his church supports the new draft but they are only ready to vote for a draft that will not leave room for abortion as the act is opposed by God. In response to Njue’s request, President Kibaki openly said that the contested clause will not be included in the final draft that will finally be presented to the public through a referendum.

However, Njue has taken a tough stance on this issue even after the MPs passed the Draft Constitution, Cardinal Njue leaving it open for the referendum.

The Cardinal is adamant that the Catholic Church will not support the Constitution because it makes reference to abortion. He said: “The Catholic Church has not changed and will not change its stand regarding this document. We only hope a solution will be found before it’s too late.”

However, the Catholic church’s stand places the Church at a crossroads as the Anglican and Seventh Day Adventist are calling on Kenyans to support the document.

Speaking in Nairobi at the All Saints Cathedral, head of the Anglican Church in Kenya Archbishop Eliud Wabukala warned: “It’s naive to assume that because the document has been passed by Parliament Kenyans will endorse it.”

In the Revised Draft after the Parliamentarian Select Committee made changes in Naivasha, the Article 26(2) reads: “The life of a person begins at conception” and 26(4): Abortion is not permitted unless in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner, the life of the mother is in danger”.

Archbishop These two sections have raised a storm with many Wabukala arguing that it creates room for fatality in case the life of a pregnant woman is in danger such as in emergency cases and spontaneous abortion.

Faithful subscribing to the Catholic Church say they will not vote for the Constitution if the article on abortion remains stipulated within the constitution.

Although it must be appreciated that for the first time the church has agreed to discuss abortion, the contentious clauses threaten to divide the country right in the middle.

However, the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church has broken ranks with other churches in support of the proposed draft constitution on the abortion.

The Church’s East and Central Africa President Pastor Paul Muasya, in a press briefing, said that the church does not accept abortion but is of the opinion that a window should be left for abortion if the life of the mother is in danger.

Cardinal Njue, however, is supported by other churches led by the Secretary General of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Mr Peter Karanja who also expressed anxiety at the inclusion of abortion.

The comments by President Kibaki and members of the clergy have attracted sharp reaction from a number of medics and some Christians.

However, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has also come out defending the draft constitution by appealing to the clergy to accept the draft as it is and it be amended at certain stage.

“We all love children but in situations where the life of the mother is threatened, medical doctors should be left to decide,” Raila said.

The Prime Minister said Kenyans have struggled to have the new constitution in place for the last 20 years, and it was unfortunate for the clergy to stop Kenyans from having a constitution of their choice.

He praised the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review for doing a good job and appealed to the electorate to turn up and vote for the draft in large numbers.

As the church continues charging, it is yet to be seen whether it has the clout it used to have during the past 20 years that they have supported the enactment of the new constitution.

The Committee of Experts on the Constitutional Review is upbeat that the new law will be passed by members of the public once put to debate.

The CoE’s Executive Director, Mr Ekuru Akukot said that the final draft is very clear and has no contentious clause(s).

12

Issue Number 04 • April 2010

Kenya lauded over CEDAW

Kenyan women from the civil society at the Beijing +15 meeting in New York. Kenya has been recognized for filing reports on women’s rights advancements. Picture: Rosemary Okello. …By Arthur Okwemba

K

enya has been ranked among top performers in Africa who have filed a number of periodical reports on progress it has made in implementing a United Nations convention that champions the rights of women.

However, the country has been submitting these reports two years or in some instances seven years late from the date set by the UN Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee.

Presenting the status of the CEDAW at the ongoing United Nations 54th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women, Dorcus Coker-Appiah, the Convention’s committee member, said Kenya was one of the countries in Africa trying hard to comply with reporting requirements.

So far, the country has submitted six reports, the last one being in 2006 since it ratified the Convention 26 years ago.

It is yet to submit the seventh report which was due in 2009.

Countries are expected to present the first report one year after ratification of the convention and then after every four years in subsequent reporting.

Kenya’s performance is rated good on a continent where countries have submitted either only two or no single report since they ratified the treaty, some more than 10 years ago.

Botswana, Central Africa Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, and Swaziland, are some of those that are yet to submit a report to the CEDAW committee since they ratified the convention.

“African countries have a very serious low rating when we consider the regularity with which they submit reports detailing the progress made in implementing the CEDAW,” says Coker-Appiah.

Speaking at the CEDAW-the 30year Struggle for Equality forum in New York, Coker-Appiah singled out two reasons that explain why Kenya and other African countries delay in submitting their reports or fail to file altogether.

One of them, she said, is that African countries say they lack the technical capacity to put the reports together. But she was fast to add that these very countries have an option to ask for technical support from the United Nations organs such as the Division for Advancement of Women.

“On several occasions when we realise that a country has serious technical capacity to come up with the report, we recommend and advice on where they can get such assistance,” says Coker-Appiah.

But it emerged that Kenya and other African countries are ill prepared when it comes to documentation of interventions being made by the state and other stakeholders. And when it came to preparing the report, the government finds

“African countries have a very serious low rating when we consider the regularity with which they submit reports detailing the progress made in implementing the CEDAW.” —Dorcus Coker-Appiah, the CEDAW committee member,

itself without sufficient data to inform its reporting.

Other countries find it difficult to write any report, especially when they have done nothing in promoting women’s rights.

Coker-Appiah thinks lack of political will is the major obstacle as to why systems in African countries are not working well when it comes to reporting the CEDAW regularly and promptly.

But some Kenyan government delegations attending the UN meeting blamed the delay in getting a feedback on their reports from CEDAW Committee as the cause of their apathy in filing subsequent reports on time.

While agreeing that the CEDAW committee has not been meeting regularly in the past to deliberate on reports submitted by State Parties, Coker-Appiah says this should not be used as an excuse for not filing reports regularly.

“The Committee now meets three times a year and we do not expect to get such complains in future.”

Coker-Appiah would like civil society to play a critical role in pushing their governments to file progress reports to CEDAW Committee on a regular basis.

Besides the reporting, Kenya is rated on the UN CEDAW website as one the progressive countries which have placed any reservations on some of the CEDAW articles.

Countries in Africa and from other regions have registered reservations mainly on Articles two, five, nine, and 16 of the Convention arguing that they are in

conflict with their religion, culture, tradition and national laws.

Article Two calls on States Parties to condemn discrimination against women in all its forms; while Article Five calls on States Parties to take all appropriate measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women.

Article Nine requires States Parties to grant women equal rights with men to acquire, change or retain their nationality; and Article 16 calls on States Parties to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations. These are the very articles that are at the core of women rights.

“When it comes to women’s issues, the State Parties play a precautionary card. But we are happy that some of them have been removing the reservation once we have a discussion with them,” says Coker-Appiah.

Representatives of NGOs from Kenya said they have been using the CEDAW to safe-guard women rights and push the government to come up with gender sensitive laws such as the Sexual Offences Act and the establishment of the Gender Ministry and Gender Focal points within other ministries.

They use CEDAW as a persuasive instrument in ensuring that parliamentarians and the government put in place gender sensitive policies and laws as well as monitoring and evaluating government and private sector performance on gender issues.

Executive Director: Rosemary Okello-Orlale Editorial Director: Arthur Okwemba Managing Editor: Jane Godia The Kenyan Woman is a publication of African Woman and Child Feature Service E-mail: info@awcfs.org www.awcfs.org

Contributors:

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Abdullahi Jamaa, Ruth Omukhango, and Duncan Mboyah

Design & layout:

Noel Lumbama (Noel Creative Media Ltd)

This paper is produced with support from The United Nations Democratic Funds (UNDEF)