Raphael Tuju bags gender rights champion award
Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju was on Thursday feted over his credentials as an advocate for gender equality.
The Cabinet Secretary without portfolio bagged the gender rights champion award over his “outstanding credentials as a consistent advocate for gender equality, communication expert and politician” dating back to three decades.
The award was conferred on the politician by two organisations that champion gender rights -Echo Network Africa and Safeguarding Democratic Space in Kenya (Sades-K).
Echo Network Africa’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Jenifer Riria and her counterpart from Sades-Kenya Ms Phyllis Obonyo said Mr Tuju’s fight for gender equality dates back to the 90’s long before he plunged into politics.
“Raphael Tuju's credentials as an advocate for gender equality dates back to the year 1992 when he teamed up with others like Dr Amb. Maria Nzomo then of University of Nairobi and Dr. Wangui Njau to do some of the ground breaking work on the plight of the girl child as a communication consultant.”
The girl child
“He then produced for Unicef, a film titled the "Lesser child" that focused on the predicament of the girl child and was used for policy advocacy not only in Kenya but in many countries in the African continent. By then talking about the girl child was unheard of,” Dr Riria said during the ceremony at Serena Hotel in Nairobi.
In 1995, Dr Riria said Mr Tuju worked with Maendeleo ya Wanawake in raising awareness on the problem of FGM and produced Films that exposed the problem like never before.
“He was also a lead communications consultant on gender matters for the UNDP agency Unifem in New York. One of the seminal projects he did for Unifem included one titled “Dignity" that highlighted the specificities of problems faced by Mozambican women refugees in Zimbabwe, Liberian women refugees in Ghana and Ethiopian women refugees in Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya,” added Dr Riria who is also the chairperson of Africa women leaders network.
The CS, she noted, teamed up with Fida in advocacy in the fight against gender-based violence in the year 2000 by working with Parliamentarians before he was elected MP.
“His work on advocacy for the girl child also took him to Malawi where he worked on production of advocacy communication materials,” she said.
Private tuition fund
Ms Obonyo said that as Rarieda MP, Mr Tuju built hundreds of houses for widows, supported the building of mixed secondary schools and established a private tuition fund to promote education of girls.
“In his current role as Cabinet Minister, Hon. Tuju has remained a steadfast champion and dependable ally fighting for women causes in the corridors of power through quiet diplomacy,” she said.
Public Service and Gender Affairs CAS Beatrice Elachi lauded Mr Tuju for his gender advocacy and urged him to continue pushing for women rights in his capacity as Jubilee Secretary General.
“We hope that he will transform this party even as we head to the next elections so that more women can be able to be brought on board,” Ms Elachi said.
Mr Tuju said he was delighted by the recognition of his contributions on gender equality.
He challenged organisations championing for the women rights to bring on board men to ensure success of their programme.
“There is a need for tactical approaches in dealing with this matter because there are socialisation and cultural issues that determine the way men behave,” Mr Tuju said.
