10. Protection and Empowerment of Women

Women make up more than 52% of Kenya’s population and yet they are not adequately represented in governance and decision-making positions. Further, due to economic and socio-cultural constraints, they are faced with various challenges in life that impact on their human rights which has a negative effect on the overall development of this country. FORD-People party believes that the meaningful inclusion of women is critical to achieving its goal as a vibrant, democratic and strong political party. The party affirms the need to become more inclusive and representative in expanding political leadership opportunities and roles for women both in the party and in the governance structures of the country. FORD-People envisions a gender sensitive society in which women would play their developmental roles without prejudice and on an equal basis to their male counterparts. To realise this noble intention, we will:

▪ Entrench the FORD-People Women’s League (FPWL) into the party constitution thereby making it an integral component of the party with the mandate to work towards achieving gender equity and parity within the party and in all spheres of life.

▪ Work towards encouraging more women to vote, take up leadership positions, be activists and candidates for elective office. the party undertakes to promote the policy of at least 30% women’s representation in all its organs

▪ Undertake to encourage, recruit and train women to compete for public office at all levels. The party shall create strategic plans aimed at achieving this result such as quotas, placing women high on party lists; and running candidates in winnable constituencies.

▪ Work towards addressing barriers within and outside the party that discourage women’s full participation in the politics of the country.

▪ Endeavour to remove restrictions on women’s political participation by adopting a policy of zero-tolerance to all forms of violence against women and in particular, violence and harassment directed at women in the electoral process. The party shall also create mechanisms to support and protect women once they gain political visibility or office.

▪ Use international instruments and conventions as tools to build domestic support for increasing women’s representation and participation and support all initiatives to achieving this aim.

▪ Work with other party leaders to promote legislation enshrining the equality of women in the country’s constitution, including prohibiting discrimination against women in the work place with regard to hiring and promotion within government service and advocate for the appointment of women to at least 30% to the cabinet and other high government offices.

▪ The party favours the establishment of a policy to track and disseminate data on women’s participation and contribution to development at national level.

▪ Be at the forefront in supporting legislation and sensitization campaigns aimed at eradicating cultural practices that discriminate against, and are harmful to women.

▪ Support legislation and sensitization campaigns aimed at prohibiting cultural practices that discriminate and are harmful to women and girls.

▪ Recognize the right of every woman to be treated with dignity, to be protected from exploitation and degradation, and to have a right to the development of her personality.

▪ Work towards the realization of guaranteeing women equal opportunities to work, promotion, and equal remuneration for jobs of equal value to men and combating sexual harassment in the work place. We shall join efforts to facilitate more open, transparent and gender-balanced budgeting processes.

▪ Work jointly with other development partners and stakeholders to support women groups through capacity building and skills development for appropriate technology.

▪ Support the implementation of the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action on the need to value unpaid work.

▪ Endeavour to ensure that women enjoy their right to health by providing adequate, affordable and accessible health services while strengthening existing pre-natal, delivery and post-natal health and nutritional services for women during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

▪ Support the teaching of appropriate sex education in educational institutions and efforts to create a national policy framework for easy access to, availability and utilization of reproductive health services.

▪ Support initiatives to expand the national social heath insurance scheme and access to affordable curative and preventive care at all public health facilities.

▪ Support efforts aimed at the provision and or easy access to safe and clean water to all homesteads as a means of reducing women’s workload.

▪ Support the promotion and replication of women’s knowledge on resource utilization and to this end advocate for efforts aimed at reducing costs of energy fuel, gases; and advocate for mass education/provision of alternative sources of energy such as biogas and solar energy for sustainable development.

▪ Acknowledge the right to peaceful existence and to participating in the promotion and maintenance of peace; to ensure the participation of women in programs of education for peace and in conflict resolution practices.

▪ Call for the integration of gender sensitization and human rights education in the school and curricula while eliminating stereotypes in textbooks, syllabi and the media that perpetuate gender discrimination.

▪ Recognize the vulnerable position that women and children, especially girls find themselves in especially during armed conflict situations and call for the protection of their human rights and the punishment of all who may violate them.

▪ Ensure state protection of women with disabilities to provide for their needs and to facilitate their access to employment, professional and vocational training as well as participation in decision-making; further, that they are protected from violence, including sexual abuse and discrimination based on disability.