Lobby backs three-month paternity leave petition
Parents with their newborn.
What you need to know:
- Male employees in Kenya are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave with full pay, while women take three-month maternity leave.
- Kawira Mate laughs off the petition, suggesting instead that the current two weeks be reduced to one.
Maendeleo ya Wanaume (Mawe), a men’s rights organisation, has supported a petition seeking to have male employees get the same number of leave days due to childbirth as their female counterparts.
The proposal by Dr Magare Gikenyi, based in Nakuru, has sparked a storm. But Mawe chairman Nderitu Njoka, in an interview with Nation.Africa, said it would ensure equality at the workplace.
Currently, male employees in Kenya are entitled to two weeks of paternity leave with full pay, while women take three-month maternity leave. Mr Njoka said fathers, too, need enough time to provide care and bond with newborns.
“We are very happy with this petition as it is meant to ensure men will no longer be discriminated against. Both men and women need to be treated equally when it comes to maternity and paternity leave because both are important to a child,” said Mr Njoka.
He appealed to men to speak out whenever their rights are violated.
In social media, opinion was divided. Mercylline Nyasura backed the petition, arguing that women need their husbands around when they give birth.
Steven Ojijo praised Dr Gikenyi for the move. “Men, we need to fast and pray for this to go through. What a wise man to have brought this petition to court,” he said.
But John Opiyo differed: “It is only important for the women, not men; women are the ones who take care of the child. The dad is just there to watch; they don't take keen interest. Two weeks are enough."
Also opposing was Kawira Mate, who laughed off the petition, suggesting instead that the current two weeks be reduced to one.
In the petition, the medical practitioner argues that the vast difference in the number of leave days for women and men as stipulated in the Employment Act (2007) is a clear act of discrimination that hurts many employees.
Dr Gikenyi says scientific research has shown that fathers play an equally important role during the first three months after childbirth, hence should be granted the same number of leave days as their spouses.
Citing research titled Father Involvement and Cognitive Development in Early and Middle Childhood, he says a father has a role in childhood development, especially the first few days.
Across the world, Hungary, Sweden, Estonia, Iceland, Slovenia and Norway are some of the countries where men and women enjoy equal maternity and paternity leave of three months.
A 2019 report by Unicef, which analysed legally protected leave for new parents in 41 richest countries, found that 26 offered paid paternity leave, while 40 had paid leave for new mothers.
The International Labour Organisation indicated that the number of countries with statutory paternity leave provisions rose from 49 to 94 per cent between 1994 and 2015.
