Kenya, Sierra Leone sign MoU in gender parity quest
President Uhuru Kenyatta with his Sierra Leone counterpart Julius Maada Bio during a ceremony at State House, Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- Prof Kobia said they would share knowledge of the implementation of policies and legislative frameworks for gender equality and women empowerment.
- This will be in addition to exchanging best practice on prevention and response to gender-based violence.
Kenya and Sierra Leone have committed to advancing gender equality.
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, who is on a five-day state visit to Kenya, and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, witnessed the signing of an inter-governmental memorandum of understanding (MoU) for promoting the gender agenda in the two countries.
The West African country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation David Francis and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Gender Margaret Kobia signed the MoU on Monday at State House, Nairobi, on behalf of their respective countries.
Prof Kobia said they would share knowledge of the implementation of policies and legislative frameworks for gender equality and women empowerment. This is in addition to exchanging best practice on prevention and response to gender-based violence.
Kenya has made more progress in eliminating gender inequalities than Sierra Leone. It ranks position 95 out of 156 countries rated in the Gender Gap Report 2021 by World Economic Forum. Sierra Leone was placed 121st.
By February 2021, only 12.3 per cent of seats in Sierra Leone parliament were held by women, compared to 21.6 per cent in Kenya.
On teenage pregnancy, the Kenyan numbers are lower at 96 per 1,000 adolescents aged 15-19 than Sierra Leone’s 102. Kenya, however, has high prevalence of physical and sexual intimate partner violence among women aged 15-49 at 22.8 per cent, compared to 19.8 per cent of Sierra Leone based on 2018 data from UN Women.
On family planning, Kenya is also ahead. By 2019, UN Women data shows that Kenya had satisfied family planning needs of 74.4 per cent of its women aged 15-49 compared to 53 per cent in Sierra Leone.
“We look forward to promoting and straightening our bilateral relations on gender equality and women empowerment,” said Prof Kobia.
