MEMORANDUM

To: the cabinet

From: minister, gender & sports Date: 15th dec. 2002

REF: MAINSTREAMING GENDER IN ALL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES

The term “gender” in its simple formulation encompasses both the male and
female divide. By definition, gender refers to culturally constructed notions of maleness
and femaleness as distinctively opposed to biologically defined male and female sex.
Gender is “a broad analytic concept which highlights women’s roles and responsibilities
in relation to those of men.” (a subject of some special interest to social scientists and
educational researchers has been the relationship between gender and human interactional
activities.)1
There is still a discrepancy between political will and reality in gender
mainstreaming in Kenya and Africa as a continent. To combat this, the government will
have to;
a) Promote gender equality among young parents in sharing the responsibility for the
small children - through making changes in the parental leave insurance.
b) find ways to fight violence against women, including abusing the human rights by
forcing them into arranged marriages
c) To increase women's participation in politics, not only in formal political
structures but also the civic engagement in politics.
d) To strengthen gender-awareness and capacities among both women and men
politicians and civil servants.

1
T.O. Ojienda
 e) To deliver services that addresses the specific needs and interests of women and
men in the community, which requires engendered economic development,
development planning and resources allocation.
f) To create awareness of women’s rights.
My government is going to tackle the following In three key factors in its aim
towards achieving substantive gender equality in economic development;
i) Availing sex disaggregated statistical data on economic performance, which
will facilitate assessment of men’s and women’s contribution to the impact on
the economy.
ii) Mainstreaming of gender issues into economic development policies, rather
than having gender-specific policies; and
iii) Implementation of measures that support all disadvantaged groups, not just
women, in having equal access to resources.
Based on the fact that in Kenya, women’s rights to inherit and own property have
been a subject of discussion on the continent on fact that Widows are faced with hard
times following the demise of their spouses. They are not able to exercise their rights
because customary laws have premium over statutory ones in many countries despite
international conventions and declarations. To this end my government will spear head
amendments to the constitution to empower women in their claims over marital property.
My government appreciates that equality between men and women is enshrined in the
Constitution of this republic. Legally, men and women have the freedom to do business
and share equal rights in the areas of property ownership, land tenure, entering into
contracts, inheritance, and civil transactions. However, as in many other countries, due to
both historical and cultural reasons, women entrepreneurs in Kenya tend to be
disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to actually exercising their legal rights.
My office is recently handed to the A.G. a draft Law on Gender quality which
outlines the basic principles of gender quality, not only in general but in specific areas,
including business and professional development. Specifically, the law affirms that men
and women who start and develop businesses, cooperatives, and household economic
activities must receive equal opportunities and face the same conditions for accessing
funding, resources and markets, and tax incentive policies. The law also introduces a
number of affirmative measures aimed to narrow the gender gap, including training
opportunities for women. Most importantly, the law aims to establish an effective
mechanism for the enforcement of gender equality in society. Finally, the law provides
that all future legislation and policies be evaluated for potential gender impact before
being passed

My government is further calling upon managers to aspire and proclaim

themselves as emperors if they are to rid the country of rampant poverty and gender
inequality. We further advise managers to exude confidence and to believe in themselves,
as this will help them to lead from the "frontline of troops" in bringing about racial and
gender changes in the country's business environment. International research shows that
countries that invest in women's enterprise development and implement policies to
promote their growth not only witness greater numbers of women owned firms and a
growth in the share of these firms as compared to national averages, but also benefit from
stronger national economies overall.2
My government shall further embark on a campaign aimed at empowering and
encouraging more women to become involved in the private sector can have a significant
and positive impact on the country's already dynamic economic performance, which has
proven to be an important force in alleviating poverty. This will backed by incentives
towards the same.
Out of the apparent often heavy workload on women's paid and unpaid work,
which my government perceives as a barrier to their ability to take part in decision
making. The Local have been imposed the role to providing affordable, professional and
safe care services for children, older people and people with disabilities, be that directly
or in partnership with the private or the voluntary sectors, and in promoting the sharing of
household tasks by women and men on an equal basis. Men have the equal right and
responsibility to care for their children and relatives and should be encouraged to do so.
My Government has also earmarked Ksh. 16 million for between 2002 and 2004
which resource centers for women can apply for in order to begin projects for growth-

2
A. Lundstrom and Stevenson, L., On the Road to Entrepreneurship Policy, Swedish Foundation for Small
Business Research, 2002.
oriented regional development activities. State funds have been granted on the condition
that at least 50 per cent is financed by other regional or local funds. The Government
argues that, with this set-up, other investors - traditional participants - will learn to handle
projects that focus on women.
Lastly my government has come up with some proposed Institutional factors
related to the political system with examples with regard to voting being:
1. Registration procedures (cultural norms and values may prohibit women from
having a photograph taken for voter registration cards or from showing their face
to male officers in polling boots, prevent women from voting).
2. Voting procedures (if the elections are not secret women may be controlled by
their husbands), accessibility of polling stations (in general women are less free to
move around).
3. Civic education (women have got less education and are usually less informed
about the electoral process, the meaning of elections and the right to vote).
and with regard to nomination and election being;
1. In the selection criteria: the high level of education, the membership of certain
professions, as well as party activism and service, are easier to deal with for
men.
2. Women are not involved in systems as patronage and clientelism; systems that
bring people in decision-making positions.
3. Another important factor is the selection process and the electoral and
political system. Important criteria in systems dealing with individual
candidates (rather than party lists) are popularity with opinion leaders, right
family connections and sufficient funds. These criteria are more difficult to
obtain by women.
4. Preferential voting can be an advantage for women candidates.
5. Important is whether there are specific policies to increase women’s
participation (reserved seats, quotas).
6. The political climate is often characterized by aggressiveness, competitiveness
and discrimination or intimidation of women, discouraging many women to
enter politics or to continue once they have come involved in it.
Lastly I release to this cabinet a report study handed to me during theInter-
Parliamentary Union (IPU), Council of European Municipalities and Regions

Countries Women MP Women in muni-

(Lower House) cipal councils
Year: 2000.
Albania 5 %
Benin 6 %
Guinea Bissau 8 %
Mali 12 %
Canada 20 % (’97) 18 % (’95)
United States 13 % (’98) 23 % (’90)
Africa
Burkina Faso 11 % 23 % (’00)
Mozambique 9% 3 % (’00)
Namibia 4%
Niger 36 % 23 % (’98)
Seychelles 43 % 42 % (’00)
South Africa
Tanzania
Zambia
Zimbabwe

8% 10 % (’94)
30 %
25 % 41 % (‘99)
1 %
24 % 52 % (’99)
30 % 18 % (’99)
16 % (’95) 25 % (’99)
10 % 6 % (’99)
9 % 3 % (’99)

(CEMR).