16 Days of Activism: Let us change the narrative

Today marks the beginning of 16 days of activism against gender based violence. This is a global campaign that raises awareness on violence against women and girls.  It was first marked in 1991 by activists during the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Decades later, the campaign continues to highlight  mutating forms of gender violence and discrimination against women. This year’s global theme is orange the world: End violence against women now.

Feminists in Kenya have been on the fore-front of challenging violence against women and girls. To kick off this year’s 16 Days of Activism, the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) hosted a regional peer to peer learning session with women’s rights organisation to discuss best practices in strengthening and amplifying the voices of African women especially in political participation.

Since 2019, FEMNET has partnered with Women in Political Participation (WPP) and key consortium partners: Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Education Trust (WLSA), Gender Links, IFAN- Gender Lab and PADARE, to advance gender equality in politics and governance. Their programs are being implemented in eight countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

Speaking at the peer to peer session, Memory Kachambwa, Executive Director of FEMNET, emphasised the need for women to adopt the spirit of sisterhood, learn from each other and take up leadership roles in politics.

 “Our aim is to leverage on the experiences of the women in leadership across the region.  It is evident that women vying for political seats are particularly vulnerable to gender based violence be it through physical threats and intimidation, cyber bullying and being shamed on mainstream media. Still, we are saying that women must lead.”

She further pointed out the need to identify  the retrogressive narratives propagated by the patriarchal system and tactfully start influencing change

“Women are accused of being divided, but men oppose each other as well. We shouldn’t be expected to have same ideologies and philosophies just because we are women.”

The partnership with WPP seeks to enhance women’s capacity to engage in political participation with desired outcomes being ability to profile the constitution, mobilise funds to run a campaign and gain knowledge on how to engage key players in public service such as the civil society, media and the voters.

Ray of hope

The consistent effort of feminists and other women rights activists is bearing fruit, as Hon, Caroline Agwanda, and advisor to the governor of Kisumu County, shared.

“I am pleased to report that we are witnessing political goodwill when it comes to gender mainstreaming at the county level. The governor has been keen to bring more women to the decision-making table which is commendable.”

She further stated her commitment to push for a federation of women with disability in Kenya because they have specific needs that are often overlooked. Their voices are further suppressed, especially in leadership.

“People living with disabilities are put in the same group but this shouldn’t be the case. The challenges women face, especially those with disabilities, are different from those of men. Their rights are violated because their voices are not being heard. Thankfully, this is being addressed as Kisumu is set to host the first county convention for persons with disability.”

A few good men

On championing protection of women rights, Thando Makubaza from PADARE shared some of the strategies that are working for feminists in Zimbabwe.

“We have a mantra—A quality man is not afraid of equality. And we are still looking for a few good men. Our approach has been one on one dialogue with male parliamentarians. We have reached at least 60 of them. By not being confrontational, we have begun to help men understand specific issues that affect women and they are starting to rethink their approach to women issues.”

According to Thando, it is important for men to be involved in engaging fellow men on issues affecting women. By having men as allies, change is likely to be achieved faster.

“We have men who are campaigning for women rights and even supporting women aspirants. These men are able to engage fellow men—including decision makers—in their spaces. We want men to understand that the table is big enough for them to create space for women. Women are not out to replace men.”

On dialogue, that, coupled with storytelling has also worked for activists championing women rights in Tanzania.

“It helps that we now have a woman president. When we share our ideas, we get a good reception they say, ‘mmeshikila nchi’. We have a group of 90 activists that are helping raise awareness on gender issues such as violence against women. We have a lot to do but we are on the right path,” shared Sesilia Shirima of Young and Alive Intiative.

Next week, FEMNET will be hosting a men to men engagement forum in Homabay. Men will drive the conversation around gender based violence and how it affects women in Kenya.

In addition, the organisation is running a campaign, let’s end femicide, to protest rampant killing of women in Kenya.  FEMNET will also host a special podcast series on holding decision makers accountable and influencing them to adopt feminists approaches to end femicide.

The podcast series will run until December 10.

Dorothy Otieno, project coordinator FEMNET, stated that it was time to progress from raising awareness to accountability. As feminists tirelessly push for more women in leadership, those who are already in policy making spaces need to give a report card, especially on issues affecting women.

“We are demanding that women leaders condemn femicide. Women are being killed all over the country and our fellow women in leadership positions are silent. It is time for them to speak up."