By Prof. Margaret Kobia
This year marks
twenty-five years since the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing
China. Popularly referred to as the Beijing Platform for Action, the conference
is reputed to have set up a most visionary agenda for women and girls
everywhere. This year the United Nations 64th Convention on Status
of women (CSW 64) will be reviewing the progress made in gender equality the
world over under the theme “An Equal
World is an Enable World”. It is the year that is also introducing a new
approach to gender equality programming globally under the banner “Generation Equality”. What has inspired
this change and how does it apply in the Kenyan context?
The Beijing
platform for action identified twelve critical areas that needed strategic
action by governments and civil society to enhance the human rights of women
and remove systemic barriers that hold back women from fully participating in
all areas of life. Among these concerns were poverty reduction, education,
health, violence, decision making, and the plight of the girl child. Given the
conditions at the time, there was informed reason to advocate for positive bias
for the girl child.
Despite some
progress, real, tangible and impactful change has been agonizingly slow the
world over. Today, not a single country can claim to have achieved gender
parity in all areas of life. In Kenya, despite some progress, women and girls
still face discrimination, cultural exclusion, and experience inequality in the
social and political front. In the political front, while more women sit in
parliament, they account for only 23%. Women unemployment stands at about 11%
against 6% for men. Female headed households are poorer, at 30%, compared to men
at 26%. Women occupy lower skilled jobs and own fewer assets, compounding their
challenges. On Gender Based Violence, 21% of women still face Female Genital
Mutilation. On women’s health, 23% of girls are married off before the age of 18
thus exposing them to high risk of maternal mortality. In the same sector, the
unmet need for contraceptives stands at 26%. True, progress has been made but
there remain considerable unmet goals for Kenya. Nevertheless, this should not
blind us to the progress we have made in many areas.
For instance, Kenya
has made remarkable progress the policy and legal environment particularly on
Gender Based Violence and FGM. The proactive deeds by His Excellency the President
to end FGM by 2022 has set the pace for the country and galvanized the support
of all stakeholders. Exemplary progress has been realized in matrimonial
property, marriage and citizenship rights. In education, the universal free
primary school policy has nearly achieved equal rates in enrolment for boys and
girls. The 100% transition policy will accelerate this trajectory going into
secondary education. Fertility rates dropped to 3.9 births per woman in 2014,
down from 4.9 in 2003. These are a few of the remarkable advances made, that
many developing countries would desire to achieve.
Generation Equality
is conceptualized to accelerate progress in these and other areas of concern.
It builds on the Beijing action points and demands a radical sense of guided
impatience going forward. It envisages equal pay for all genders, equal sharing
of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to all forms of sexual and domestic
violence, access to health care services, and, most importantly, equal
participation in political life and decision making in all areas of life. It sets
the stage for doubling efforts to complete the unfinished business set by the
Beijing Platform for Action 25 years ago.
The fact that
the United Nations family is set to review progress twenty-five years after
Beijing means that the gender equality movement is bringing advocates,
activists and visionaries who were instrumental in laying the Beijing
foundation, together with change makers in the new generation of actors. The
new generation consists of change makers of all ages and genders. They are
expected to galvanize the gains made, fill the gaps that are still open, and engender
novel, ground-breaking, multigenerational approaches under the Generation
Equality banner. In Kenya, in line with
the new spirit, community opinion elders and religious leaders, who are
predominantly male, are already championing the campaign against Female Genital
Mutilation.
Generation
Equality is a global mobilization that provides an opportunity for countries to
strategize on safeguarding the gains made so far and preventing claw-backs as
has been witnessed in many fronts. The new spirit of a united front is
providing space for countries to leverage on the opportunities presented by
globalization and technological advancements. As the world reimagines
economies, forms multi-generational partnerships, and makes adjustments in societies
and political systems, human rights and gender equality must be upheld, ultimately
setting a new impetus with the aim of leaving no one behind. It is instructive
that the United Nations is leading this multi-generational campaign that will
consist of a series of global conferences that will set the agenda for a global
public conversation on gender equality.
In Kenya, our
patriarchal leanings have contributed to the historical marginalization of
women and girls. The new approach envisions the promise of a more inclusive,
prosperous and peaceful, fair world for all – boys and girls, men and women
alike. It is an inter-generational movement that has linked in government,
international development organizations, civil society and private sector,
among other stakeholders.
The progress we
have made demonstrates that, indeed, this promise is achievable. It is possible
to produce tangible and irreversible results on gender equality in line with
our constitutional promise, and the global Sustainable Development Goals,
particularly on Goal number 5 that envisages a world where all genders enjoy
equal opportunities. Granted, some quarters have expressed concern that the
global gender equality campaign has tended to leave behind the boy child. With
the new approach, this concern should be comprehensively addressed as it
promises to be a galvanizing moment that will leave no one behind.