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"id": 238301,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/238301/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mrs. Chelaite",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services",
"speaker": {
"id": 346,
"legal_name": "Alicen Jematia Ronoh Chelaite",
"slug": "alicen-chelaite"
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"content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, as you know, this Paper has been awaited for a long time by Kenyans and also by this House. I am sure that the Members in this august House will support this Sessional Paper, because even if we did very many reforms in this country on other sectors, without the gender responsive issues, we are not going to go very far. My Ministry generated the Sessional Paper on Gender and Development which was approved by the Cabinet in 2000. The policies spell out gender equality and empowerment. The Sessional Paper was first drafted in 2001 and reviewed in 2005 to capture the emerging issues. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Sessional Paper No.2 provides the framework for operationalisation of gender mainstreaming in policy planning and programming in Kenya. The need for a national policy arose from the Government's realisation that without a coherent and comprehensive overall framework for guiding gender mainstreaming, enormous resources may continue to be misplaced. In this connection, this Sessional Paper underlines the linkages with other Government policies, notably, the Economic Recovery Strategy Paper (ERSP), and recognises that women and men have different needs, constraints, incentives and expectations regarding the outcomes and impacts of development. The Sessional Paper summarises the sectoral policies and implementation mechanisms for gender mainstreaming as contained in the National Policy on Gender and Development. The objective of this Sessional Paper is to facilitate debate on national policy on gender and development while the objectives of the National Policy on Gender and Development are to ensure women's empowerment and the mainstreaming of needs and concerns of women, men, girls and boys in all sectors of development in this country. To focus on empowerment strategies that recognise that gender and development approach is cross-cutting and that programme strategy should incorporate equity as a goal to outline policies geared towards raising economic growth, improving quality of life and enhancing equality between women and men. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the economy, the Sessional Paper addresses participation of women in the economy and note that it is hampered by social, economic and cultural factors. Over 80 per cent of women live in rural areas, majority of who produce food and cash crops, hence constitute 70 per cent of all employees in the agricultural sector. However, the majority are casual workers who enjoy neither security of tenure nor employment benefits. 3078 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES October 19, 2006 Women play major roles in community services within the informal sector and as individuals, in micro and small scale businesses. They also contribute to domestic services including child care, house work, firewood, water collection and food preparation for which no monetary rewards are received. To address these concerns, the Sessional Paper aims at enhancing measures that guarantee equity and fairness in access to economic and employment opportunities in both formal and informal sectors. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, regarding poverty and sustainable livelihoods, poverty permeates all sectors of the economy and carries critical implications for sustainable development. According to the welfare monitoring surveys, absolute poverty increased from 44 per cent in 1994 to 52 per cent in 1997. Poverty in rural areas increased from 47 per cent in 1982 to 53 per cent in 1990. In 1998, female-headed households had grown to 32 per cent, out of which 80 per cent fell below the poverty line. The burden of poverty, therefore, falls disproportionately on women. The Sessional Paper addresses the political, legal, social, cultural and historical conditions which enhance gender-based poverty. Agricultural development should develop mechanisms to enhance efficient and effective utilisation of available resources and the provision of equal opportunities for gainful livelihood for women, men, girls and boys. Women take care of 60 per cent to 80 per cent of households and reproductive activities and agricultural production. However, under Kenya's patriachical system, men have greater advantage to the benefits of agricultural production. An effective gender approach in designing and implementing agricultural programmes would take these differences into consideration, focusing on equality and equity of outcomes rather than just equal treatment. The Sessional Paper also proposes the review of existing policies in addressing issues in agriculture and rural development. In regard to law and justice, the Kenyan Constitution, Cap.5(70-86) contains a Bill of Rights that stipulates the fundamental rights and freedoms of every individual Kenyan. However, discrimination is evident in the application of laws relating to such matters as adoption, marriages, divorce, burial and succession, and; particularly in the application of customary law. This is further complicated by socio-cultural norms, especially with respect to ownership of property, marriage and inheritance that favour men over women. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, to guarantee equality for both women and men, the Sessional Paper proposes, among others, the implementation of recommendations of the task force for the review of laws relating to women and enhancement of the domestication of international instruments relating to the rights of women. It also proposes the adoption and implementation of the National Action Plan on Integrated Approach for Combating Violence Against Women. In regard to political participation and decision making, women account for more than half the population and comprise a large voting population yet these are under-represented in strategic decision making positions, political, administration, professional and grassroots institutions. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the Sessional Paper aims at ensuring the attainment of gender parity in political participation and decision making through strengthening of institutional structures and mechanisms for appointments in order to ensure gender-balanced composition. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on education and training, the Government regards education as a basic right for all citizens and a pre-requisite for economic and social development. However, gender disparities in terms of access to education, retention, performance and transition have persisted over the years in our society. The Sessional Paper, therefore, proposes measures to eliminate gender disparities in education. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on health and population, the policies the Government has pursued over the years have had a positive impact on improving the health status of Kenyans. However, significant disparities still exist in relation to womens' reproductive health. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has greatly affected the gains made in the health sector. Women are more vulnerable in the HIV/AIDS infections due to illiteracy, cultural emphasis on reproduction, low October 19, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 3079 economic status, deprivation, submissiveness, gender violence and biological factors. The Sessional Paper proposes measures to achieve the highest attainable standards of health through the integration of gender-related health and population concerns into the overall social and economic development framework. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on peace, security and conflict resolution, there has been a worrying trend of cross-border movement of people between Kenya and her neighbours which has resulted in the proliferation of small arms and overstretching of the resource base, therefore, giving rise to conflict between refugees and Kenyan citizens. The Sessional Paper proposes measures aimed at maintaining peace and security. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on media and information technology, Kenya's media is diverse, flourishing and competitive. The print and electronic media are powerful tools which create and change opinions, educate and socialise people. The Kenyan Press neglects and portrays women negatively as reflected in some of the advertisements channelled by the media. The Sessional Paper proposes strategies for increasing the participation of women in the media, information and technology communication sector and promoting gender-sensitive and gender- responsive portrayal of women and girls in the media. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on institutional mechanisms, to ensure effective implementation of the National Policy on Gender and Development, the Sessional Paper proposes a strong partnership between Government Ministries, the civil society and community and development partners. It also proposes institutional structures that are gender-responsive with clear guidelines that maintain adequate resources. The institutions assigned the responsibility of gender equality and development include: The Department of Gender, gender divisions in all Government Ministries and parastatals and the National Commission on Gender and Development (NCGD). Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, resource mobilisation and effective implementation of the National Policy on Gender and Development will require mobilisation of resources from across all sectors. A greater proportion of the required resources will be provided by the Government. However, additional resources shall be sought from the NGOs, the private sector and development partners. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in conclusion, the Sessional Paper aims at transforming the socio-cultural background as well as the decision making and resources allocated thereby bringing a transition that will lead to the most widespread development. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those remarks, I beg to move. I would like to call upon Dr. Mwiria to second this Motion."
}