Kajiado County has been in the forefront when it comes to empowering and investing in women.
The County has made milestones by educating women and girls, sensitizing the community against harmful practices on women and mentorship of young girls.
One of the latest project by the Gender Department is modern economic empowerment.
The County Executive Committee Member (CECM )for Gender, Culture, Cooperatives, Tourism and Wildlife, Janet Sereu, has said that after the County had witnessed frequent drought that led to the death of livestock, the gender sector working group came up with a project that champions the formation of cooperatives to teach people on the modern ways of livelihood.
“We have been championing for the formation of cooperatives in the rural areas of Kajiado. After a long drought, most communities were affected and poverty became rampant so we are partnering with gender sector working groups and partners of cooperatives such as the German Kenyan Cooperative, the Canadian Cooperative Development to teach our people alternative ways of livelihood,” said Sereu.
She added that the Kajiado County Assembly, passed a policy on Women Economic Fund that would economically empower women, to embrace activities such as modern farming, especially during drought seasons.
“The Department of Gender has been left with a challenge of going to the rural areas to train women and capacity build them, on how they can be able to embrace new modern economic activities like chicken rearing, keeping dairy goats and how to use little land after land subdivision, to make a living,” added Sereu.
Apart from economic investment, education is also a priority in Kajiado County and for its prosperity, different women, young and old are educating their fellows on how they could avoid harmful practices and secure a leadership space.
Cynthia Simantoi, from Amref Africa, believes that most of the times, young women are left behind when it comes to leadership and securing jobs, hence it is time for them to be supported and their space advocated for.
“We are advocating for space for young women. We should also look for a space for young women in our communities and country. The two third gender rule is also an opportunity for young women who have graduated from the university and looking for jobs to be given an opportunity to secure jobs,” echoed Simantoi.
On International Women’s Day, one Esther Sapashina from Sajiloni got an award for fighting against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) practices.
Sapashina revealed that, to avoid harmful traditional practices, she educates women of her age about the dangers of such activities and she is positive that they will embrace them.
“I am educating my fellow women to abandon early marriages, female genital mutilation and embrace education. Even the young mothers we are encouraging them to go back to school and have better lives,” revealed Sapashina.
In support of women’s education, Kajiado County Governor’s spouse, Edna Lenku, in her speech during International Women’s Day narrated her education story highlighting the importance of educating women.
“As women we will be forced to work as one and for us to move forward, we need to be educated. When my father took me to school, some people laughed at him as they wanted me married-off, but my father refused. I went to school and studied and found a man later, education helped me,” said Mrs Lenku.
By Seline Nyangere
