Organization seeks to empower women in leadership

Homa Bay

Thursday August 31, 2023

KNA by Davis Langat  

A community based organization Inuka Community Developers Network has embarked on collecting views from Homa Bay residents to demystify obstacles which impede women’s success in leadership in a bid to eradicate the obstacles.

Speaking Wednesday during a stakeholders meeting in Kendu Bay, the organization's Director Ms. Lydia Hongo said preliminary findings indicate that negative attitude towards women in leadership was one of the impediments barring women from becoming leaders.

The Director said some sections of the community believe that women cannot lead and this deters them from voting for them during elections. She further pointed out that other issues included women fearing for their safety during political campaigns.

Hongo said they started the programme after discovering that many women lacked empowerment. She said the views are going to help them identify problems with the aim of addressing them.

“We realized that women suffer various forms of discrimination which hinder them from occupying elective positions,” Hongo said. She also expressed concerns that women who participate actively in campaigns were sidelined when the politicians they support have won the elections.

"Some women who campaigned for politicians in the last General Elections were promised appointment positions but the promises were in vain. The attitude that women cannot lead must now come to an end,” Hongo reiterated.

The official said their focus is on community leadership where women need to be encouraged to rise to leadership posts. "Our objective is to enable women to be given equal opportunities in governance to be at par with their male counterparts," she said.

Homa Bay Deputy Governor Mr. Oyugi Magwanga and the County Executive Committee Member for Gender Ms. Sarah Malit called for inclusion teenage girls in the empowerment programme.

Magwanga recommended that for the organization to achieve its objective, it should start mentoring girls from the grassroots. “I urge the programme implementers to cascade it to girls to build their confidence that they are also capable of being leaders,” Magwanga said.

The United Nations (UN) Women Kenya Gender and Governance Programme Analyst Ms. Hellen Muchunu and Media Focus on Africa Country Director Mr. Harrison Manga said they are partnering with Community Developers Network to bring change in women leadership.

Muchunu urged women to be aggressive in quest for leadership positions. “Women's political space does not start and end at the ballot, instead they should rise to other leadership positions,” Muchunu said.

Manga on his part urged residents to be receptive to women leaders. “The negative attitude against women must now change to enable more women to be in leadership posts,” Manga said.

Courtesy ; K. N. A