The International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on March 8th to mark the social, economic, cultural and political strides made by women and as a call to action in the fight against gender parity. This year’s theme was choose to challenge.
The University of Nairobi joined the world in the celebrations by bringing together industry leaders, academia and students to share their views and experiences. Women from the different spheres took to encouraging female students by sharing how they have overcome the different challenges that they have faced.
Prof. Rose Nyikal, Principal, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, noted that women are good at multitasking, she talked of her own life experiences citing raising children and still being able to pursue a career and thus women should not be scared of juggling various responsibilities in their lives.
Prof. Florence Oyieke, Director, Student Welfare and Accommodation, encouraged female students to focus on their studies with the same effort as their male counterparts and not to get engulfed by their love lives. She also encouraged students to come forward with any issues pertaining to their welfare as the lines of communication were always open.
Betty Kyalo, an influential media personality, entrepreneur and journalist encouraged students to always challenge themselves and believe in themselves; ‘We should always try to think out of the box and come up with creative ways of doing things so we can set ourselves apart from others,” She cites her fear of poverty and making sure she provides the best for her daughter as her driving force. Betty is not scared setting ambitious goals and working towards achieving them.
While Mercy Kyalo, an entrepreneur told the ladies her experience of making the first sale after a whole year of starting her yallo leather manufacturing company.
Hon. Cecilia Ng’etich, former women representative discussed the need for women political candidates to develop tough skin in order to sufficiently compete with their male counterparts. She also mentioned the importance of civic education at the grassroots level to ensure that the women at this level elected the right kind of leaders; the kind of leaders that would have their best interests at heart.
Women have set up measures to challenge the Kenyan patriarchal society and to guarantee that they have an equal playing field with their male counterparts. The two thirds gender rule is an example of legislation with provisions for the fair participation of women in politics. The Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association,(KEWOPA), the Kenya Women Senators, (KEWOSA), Civil Society Organizations like FIDA-K and Faith Based Organizations play an integral role in the implementation and enforcement of laws like the two thirds gender rule.
It is also worth noting the impact women’s groups at the grassroots level have had on the society. These groups play a huge role in ensuring women in informal settlements and those living in the rural areas are socially, economically and politically uplifted.
All in all, the University of Nairobi’s International Women’s Day event was an overall success and served as a reflection on the power in uplifting the women in our society. All thanks go to women like Wangari Maathai, Khamala Harris, Catherine Ndereba, Pamela Jelimo, Michelle Obama,Wanjeri Nderu, Philo Ikonya, Fatuma Abdulkhadir and some many others present in our home, work and school lives. These brave figures chose to challenge the norm and paved the way for other women to excel.
Also present Prof. Hutchinson Jesang- DVC- Finance, Planning & Development, Cecilia Ngetich-former woman rep – Bomet, Sheila Kwamboka -Radio Personality, Betty Kyalo-Tv Personality, Mercy Kyalo-Entrepreneur and Kamene Goro-Radio Personality.
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