Gender journal: Here’s what to watch out for in 2023
Chief Justice Martha Koome said the National Council on the Administration of Justice had revamped its working committee on SGBV and developed Standard Operating Guidelines on the same.
The year 2022 was a period of transition for Kenyans and promises were made here and there by key development actors.
To keep them in check in 2023, here is a journal.
Two-thirds gender law
President William Ruto promised to lobby legislators to pass the two-thirds gender law when he read his inauguration speech at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi
“On the matter of gender parity, I am committed to the two-thirds gender rule as enshrined in our Constitution, I will work with Parliament to fast track various legislative proposals and establish a framework that will resolve this matter expeditiously as promised in our manifesto,” he said.
Dr William Ruto, then Deputy President, addresses women during Kenya Kwanza Women's Charter conference at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, on June 10, 2022.
Earlier, during the launch of the Women Charter, he said: “Within three months of the Kenya Kwanza rule, we will put a mechanism to actualise the two-third gender rule and immediately operationalise that mechanism so that women don’t have to wait longer.”
Clearly, he has been in office for more than three months.
Justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence
Last December, Chief Justice Martha Koome said the National Council on the Administration of Justice had in the fiscal year (2021-2022) revamped its working committee on sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) and developed Standard Operating Guidelines on the same.
She also said they had launched specialised Court Users Committees for the SGBV Court to consolidate “our efforts to ensure that SGBV cases are heard and determined in the most efficient way possible.”
She said this during the launch of the Administration of Justice Annual Report (2021-2022) which showed that 8,498 SGBV cases were resolved in the year under review.
Will the resolved cases double in the current fiscal year with the aforementioned efforts? It’s something to take note of.
Ratification of the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 190
The convention concerns elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work.
Last December National Gender and Equality Commission chairperson Dr Joyce Mutinda, said she had reached out to Attorney General Justin Muturi to speed up the process of having the convention ratified this year.
“I see that being done latest 2023 through 13th Parliament,” she said during a consultative forum on ending SGBV in Kenya convened by Echo Network Africa.
If that doesn’t happen, don’t we have the right to ask why?
