REPUBLIC OF KENYA

THE PRESIDENCY
MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING

SPEECH BY MS. ANNE WAIGURU, OGW, CABINET SECRETARY,

MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING, DURING THE
LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON KENYA WOMENS
CHARTER, 26TH FEBRUARY, 2015 AT KASARANI, NAIROBI
Delivering the Womens Agenda; Beyond the Written

Your Excellencys Ambassadors and High Commissioners,

Honorable Members of Parliament present,
County Executive Officers,
The UN fraternity,
Representatives of the various Organizations present,
Facilitators and Resource Persons,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to be with you here today, and to
preside over the launch the 10 year National Action Plan (20152025) of the Kenya National Womens Charter. I wish to commend
the Mwamko Mpya Uongozi Bora Initiative and each of its
constituent organizations

for bringing together over 1000

stakeholders from drawn from the 47 counties, both national and

county Governmentgovernment, non-governmental organizations,
development partnersMembers of Parliament, as well as women
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leaders

and

aspiring

leadersCivil

Society

Organizations,

Development Partners and grass roots women leaders, to this

National Womens Conference which has been convened under
the theme Delivering the Womens Agenda: Beyond the
Written.
I note with satisfaction that the National Action Plan has been
developed within the context of Kenyas present socio-economic,
cultural, political and environmental situation and with the
aspirations of Kenyas women in mind.
I also note with appreciation that the development of the National
Action Plan for the Kenya Womens National Charter was a
consultative process with input from key Government Ministries,
including, the Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Ministry of
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; Ministry of Commerce,
Tourism and East Africa Community; Ministry of Education;
Ministry of Health; as well as the Ministry of Labour, Social
Security and Services.I applaud the consultative process that
informed the National Charter and note the complementary role it
plays to the Governments Vision 2030, the Second Mid Term Plan
and the Governments agenda of gender equality and womens
empowerment. As the Ministry responsible for Gender, the
Ministry of Devolution and Planning is pleased to work in
collaboration with partners committed to the Governments The
Action Plan therefore offers opportunities in collating synergies
and complementing Government existing policies and initiatives
in the promotion of gender equality and womens empowerment.
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As such, we welcome and applaud the hard work of all the

organizations which is reflected in this Charterin this country.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is also clear that the National Action Plan speaks to Kenyas
Constitution, Kenya Vision 2030 and the Second Medium Term
Plan (2013 2017) and the Common African Position on the Post
2015

Development

Agenda

on

gender

equality

and

the

empowerment of women and is aligned to Kenyas existing

commitments . It is further informed by the Governments
commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of
women in the context of thein international law including
International treaties, declarations and conventions that articulate
the rights of women and girls such as the United Nations
Declaration on Human Rights, Convention on the Elimination of
All forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Beijing Platform
for Action, the Maputo Womens Protocol, the United

Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on

the Rights and Welfare of the Child. It takes into consideration,
the human rights principles articulated in the Constitution
including the basic principle that Every human being has a right
to inherent dignity and to have that dignity promoted and
protected.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Experience has taught us that democratic ideals of inclusiveness,
accountability, and transparency cannot be achieved without laws
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and, policies , measures and practices that address inequalities.

This includes the existing disparities on gender equality and
women empowerment processes. It is therefore paramount,
therefore, that we weave these ideals into the social, political and
economic fabric of our society, such that beyond the legal
framework girls and women are able to realize all their aspirations
without limitations due to genderso that girls

and women can

reach their potential on an equal basis with men in whatever they

choose to undertake. Our goal as a Government is not merely to
have a progressive legal and policy framework but to have a
country where the laws support the practical realization of
empowerment and equality for women and girls. To do this we
need everyone to uphold the laws and the values of the
Constitution. CSO, County and National government and men and
women, we all need to work together to support inclusion and
gender equality. Together we can ensure a country where girls
have more choices than ever before in our history, so that their
dreams, from being an engineer to being President are attainable.
As you may be aware, this year marks two decades since the
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by world
leaders. The leaders committed to ensuring the development of
policies and legislative frameworks aimed at promoting the rights
of women and girls across the member states, equal participation
of women in leadership, governance and decision making.
Ladies and Gentlemen

As a country that was privileged to host the third World

Conference on Women in 1985, and as we look back, 20 years
since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action, in 1995, our we have much to be proud ofsuccesses are
evident.

Our

Constitution

recognizes

gender

equality

and

furtherWe have enshrined endorses the not more than 2/3rds

principle which affirmative action in the Constitution, which
provides a framework that guarantees the representation of
women in elective and appointive positions in both levels of
Government at all levels. Our Constitution further permits
affirmative action to help realize gender equality. It stipulates a
minimum of one third (1/3) of either gender in composition in all
government appointments and promotions which has resulted in
the increased participation of women in the political and
economic spheres. Today, women in parliament form 25 percent
of elected representatives up from 9.9 percent in 2007. In the
public service, out of the 18 Ministerial portfolios, women
comprise 33.3 percent of cabinet appointees. We have made
significant strides in the political representation of women but
more still needs to be done. We need to continue expanding the
space for womens leadership and that requires nurturing young
women. If you are an MCA, aspire to run for MP for your
constituency and mentor a young woman to succeed you in the
MCA role. Nominated MCAs and MPs, work with constituents to
support your election and that of other women and run for
elective office. We will not make it alone, we must move forward

together.More significantly, women have been designated to

dockets previously dominated by men.
Ladies and Gentlemen
As a country, we have distinguished ourselves globally by
implementing
foremost

transformative

among

them

socio-economic

the

Preference

and

programmes
Reservation

Regulations which include affirmative action in the Government

procurement process, with which provide that at least the 30% of
all public procurement is reserved for provision which is currently
being rolled out to ensure that women, youth, women and
persons with disabilities have access to Government tenders. My
Ministry is at the fore-front of spearheading these unique and
innovative initiatives where USD 2.4 billion per annum is set aside
for Women, Youth and Persons with Disability enterprises. Other
initiatives that are specifically designed to improve access to
enterprise capital for the target groups include the Women
Enterprise Fund, with the equivalent of to USD 44 million dollars
per annum exclusively for women, as well as the and the UWEZO
(Ability) Fund, which is approximately equivalent to USD 70
million dollars per annum for groups of women and the youth and
persons with disabilities.
These programmes which are fully funded by the Government
clearly demonstrate the commitment by the leadership of our
nation to empower Kenyan women. Empowering women will to
ensure they can contribute to the socio-economic development of
the country while simultaneously improving their socio-economic
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status and that of their families. Research take their rightful place
in

developing

this

country

through

transformative

programmes.has shown that when women have assets and

increased income they spend more money on their families: from
nutrition, to health and education - women invest in the family.
For every one dollar a woman earns 80 cents is spent on her
family, men on the other hand invest only 30 cents for every
dollar they earn in the family. Women spend almost three times
more on the family than men. Putting more money in the hands of
women means healthier, better educated citizens. This has a
significant positive impact on national development. Women are a
competitive advantage that we must as a nation harness to
accelerate realization of our national development agenda.
Empowering women is good governance and smart economics.

However, as we reflect on how far we have come, we also know

that much more remains to be done. Women are still not equal
partners in practice. are alive to the fact that much still remains
to be done. This includes addressing tThe disproportionate
dominance of women in unpaid work, particularly care services
and, other inequalities that exist in socio-economic and political
spheres still need to be addressed to ensure women can
experience full equality.
Ladies and Gentlemen
I therefore note with appreciation that the priority areas I have
touched on are the same pertinent issues which the National
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Charter seeks to address as highlighted in the 18 articles. All

these resonate well with the Constitution, Kenya Vision 2030 and
other related normative frameworks on gender equality and the
empowerment of women.
inequality

and

Through these frameworks, gender

discrimination

of

all

kinds

are

considered

intolerable as they curtail and undermine womens abilities to

realize their full human potential and to actively participate in and
benefit from the social, economic, political, cultural and political
life in their country.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Of great importance to the Ministry of Devolution and Planning, is
facilitating the implementation of relevant legislations, while
ensuring

gender

mainstreaming

and

collecting

gender

disaggregated data to track progress and inform national policy.

providing continuous capacity building programmes that will
ensure the delivery on our countrys priorities on Gender. We are
in particular working hard, in collaboration with other partners, to
find a formula for the realization of the 2/3rds gender rule as the
Supreme Court deadline of August 2015. We will also continue to
monitor and support the 2/3rds gender rule in appointive offices.
We also urge women to be vigilant in ensuring the 2/3rds gender
rule

is

adhered

to

in

appointments

from

Land

County

Management Boards to Water Boards, we need to be represented

to ensure the needs of women and girls are adddressd. Finally, I
know many of you here are already public leaders but we need to
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have more women in leadership especially younger women

(under 35) and I urge each of us to nurture and support a young
woman or two or three. We need to create the successors for our
current

roles

and

thereby

free

ourselves

up

for

bigger

opportunities. Let us make it a personal committment to expand

the public space for women and make it easier for women to
participte more fully in public life.
draws closer. As we launch this Action Plan, I would like to implore
all of us here today to use this opportunity to reflect on the
challenges we have faced and gains that we have made in
securing gender equality and womens empowerment and to
come up with innovative ideas to push our agenda foward

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion, I would like to re-affirm the Governments
commitment in to the ensuring full realization of gender equality
and , women and girlss empowerment in the country. We shall
give our support where necessary in disseminating the Action
Plan within the Government Ministries to complement the ongoing
work As the Ministry responsible for gender we shall continue to
provide leadership in gender equality and ensure as a nation and
as women of the nation we continue to move forward.
I therefore urge us to continue working together so that we can all
deliver as one in our pursuit of gender equality in our country

. Let us capitalize and build on the synergies already established

in making Kenya a better place for our women and girls. Let us
work together in moving beyond the numbers to full access,
inclusion and participation of women and girls in all spheres. No
one CSO, or initiative can do this alone, we need everyone and I
am committed to working with all organizations that ascribe to
the principles of gender equality and womens empowerment
.
I am sure you have heard the proverb I therefore call upon all
men, women, boys and girls, all state and private institutions, all
stakeholders to jointly work together to eradicate all forms of
discrimination

and

to

take

appropriate

measures

for

empowerment and equal representation of women and girls.

If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk together.

Ladies and Gentlemen let us commit to walk far.In the spirit of

togetherness, and our vision of attaining an equitable and just
society, It is my sincere pleasure to launch this National Action
Plan and I wish you all fruitful deliberations.

now declare this

National Womens Conference officially opened and wish you

results oriented deliberations.

Thank You, and God Bless You

Asanteni

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