Indigenous Women Council (IWC) is a national women movement with more than 60 members organizations in29 counties, mostly arid and semi-arid lands. The membership includes diverse community leaders from pastoralists, hunter gatherers, fisher-folks, women living with disabilities and minorities communities. Indigenous Women Council convenes with an aim of amplifying collective voices at the national, regional…
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a barbaric practice that is deeply ingrained in various communities all over the world. This long-standing custom has caused countless women and girls tremendous agony for years and is shrouded in secrecy and terror. As we continue on this road of understanding, let us look at the courageous actions being…
Kenya’s Arid and Semi-arid Lands (ASAL) experience regular droughts and floods, as well as seasonal spikes in hunger, culminating in nutrition emergencies. There are two types of malnutrition: acute and chronic malnutrition . The Ministry of Health Kenya (MoHK) approved the Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) in 2009.Disease-related malnutrition and insufficient food consumption are…
Both the mother and the child will experience long-term health advantages from breastfeeding. Every year, the first week of August is designated as “World Breastfeeding Week.” “Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!” is the theme for World nursing Week 2023. The emphasis of the campaign this year is on encouraging behaviors that can assist breastfeeding…
UNICEF estimates that 4 million Kenyan girls and women have undergone FGM. This equates to 21% of Kenyan women and girls aged 15 to 49 undergoing the procedure. In Kenya, cutting happens at various ages, with UNICEF stating that certain ethnic groups practice it after the age of 15; while, in other communities, cutting can…
The Loiyangalani Wind Power Project is Africa’s largest wind energy project and Kenya’s largest public-private partnership in history. The Loiyangalani Wind Power Project generates 300MW of renewable energy at a cheap cost for Kenya’s national grid. Kenya has long been a green energy leader, with 70% of its electricity coming from renewable sources, as part…
The practice has long been shrouded in mystery, which is widespread and profound. While precise numbers are difficult to get due to the secrecy surrounding FGM, the KDHS estimates that up to 9% of women between the ages of 15 and 19 undergo the procedure. According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) of 2022,…
Samburu Women Trust has been implementing a project with kind support from the Africa-Led Movement-The Girl Generation(ALM-TGG): “Strengthening communities driven initiatives in eradicating FGM in Isiolo County.” Although legal restrictions have been found to reduce the rate of FGM/C, they have also been found to drive the practice underground. Eric Maber, a police officer at…
Land is considered the most fundamental resource to women’s living conditions, economic empowerment and, to some extent, their struggle for equity and equality. More than 60% percent of women in indigenous communities are dependent on land for their livelihoods. Despite the importance of land to women in these communities , their land rights are still…
‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,’ is the theme of the 2023 UN International Women’s Day. This theme is aligned with the priority theme for the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67), “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment…