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COMMEMORATING THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD IN NAKURU COUNTY
Date: 11-11-2023
The International Day of the Girl Child was declared on 11th October 2011 by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the rights of girls and the unique challenges they face around the world. The day is marked all over the world to address the challenges that the girls face, to promote their empowerment and fulfill the girls' rights.
In Nakuru County, the International Day of the Girl Child was celebrated at the Ngala School for the Deaf. The Nakuru County Executive Committee (CEC) member for Sports, Gender, Social Service and Inclusion, Hon. Josephine Achieng, and the Chief Officer for Gender, Social Services and Inclusions, Hon. Gladys Kamuren graced the event.
The event began with a sensitization walk from Nakuru Railway Station past the Nakuru Central Business District and ended at the Ngala School for the Deaf. Several organizations had come forth to support the event. These included the Young African Women Initiative (YAWI), The Rani Ramchandani Foundation, the Rotary Club of Nakuru, Soar Kenya, and the Health Education Africa Resource Team (HEART).
The various speakers emphasized the need to have girls supplied with sanitary towels freely and to be provided with protection from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Hon. Josephine Achieng, the Nakuru County CEC for Sports, Gender, Social Services, and Inclusivity, was the Chief Guest, representing the Nakuru County Governor HE. Susan Kihika. She implored upon all the stakeholders to ensure that every girl child can acquire sanitary towels on a need basis. She added that the County government would work with the national government departments and the private sector to ensure a regular supply of sanitary towels to the girls in Nakuru County.
She thanked all the partners who have come on board for their efforts in mobilizing resources and asked that the efforts be replicated in the rural areas of Nakuru, which are hard to reach and they experience high poverty levels.
Gladys Kamuren is the Chief Officer for Gender, Social Services, and Inclusivity in the Nakuru County Government. Hon Kamuren called on a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach in responding to sexual and gender-based violence. She was distraught at the rate at which the office of the Director of public prosecution handles SGBV cases.
“The slow wheel of justice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution is hindering the follow-up of the gender-based violence cases in Nakuru. We now have perpetrators harassing the survivors. Accelerating the response and prosecution will create confidence in girls and women to report cases. Otherwise, our efforts will go to waste.â€
She added that the reporting of SGBV cases is abysmal in the rural areas. This is because of the application of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. In most cases, the girls are never consulted or involved, and they carry the physical scar and the psychological burden of poor response to abuses.
Hon. Kamuren was worried that the government had not supplied sanitary towels to the schools for the last two years, ostensibly caused by budgetary constraints. There is noted confusion on which department is responsible for the distribution. The National Gender Equality Commission (NGEC) has the budget line for sanitary towel distribution. The sanitary towel program for primary schools required the Ministry of Education to provide free and sufficient sanitary towels to every girl who has reached puberty, is registered, and enrolled in a public primary school. This is to ensure there is retention, transition, and improved performance.
Nominated MCA Doren Korir emphasized the need to treat menstruation as an emergency, the way priority has been given in the fight against HIV and AIDS. She asked that the national and county governments to develop a framework policy where there shall be towel dispensers in schools, hospitals, and other public places like there are condom dispensers. She reiterated that sex is optional, but menstruation must occur monthly for the girls.
Sammy Ondimu is a renowned police and administrator. He is also a girl's child protection and empowerment activist. He implored the girls to keep off from bodaboda riders not approved by their parents—the bodaboda riders identified as the main perpetrators in girls’ defilement cases in Nakuru. Mr. Ondimu also asked the girls to report their relatives, including the father, when they defiled them.
“When your fathers defile you, they stop being your parents but criminals. Please report them to the police, the teachers, chief, or anyone you trust. What will happen if they make you pregnant? Will your father remain your father or the father of the child? I don’t want to imagine the confusion.â€
Mr. Ondimu also emphasized the reporting of cases at the gender desks that are available in every police station in the County. The gender desks have male and female police officers to cater to complaints from either boys or girls. The police will assist in gathering facts and in post-rape care for the survivors.
There is no shame in menstruation. It is a natural biological occurrence, and everybody is responsible for offering assistance and emotional support to the girls during menses. The girls should also be sensitized on the preventive measures s avoid falling victim to defilers and rapists and to be aware of the reporting mechanism in case they are abused.
Data from the Ministry of Education indicates that a girl is absent from school for four days every month due to menstruation-related challenges. This is equivalent to losing two weeks of learning time every academic term. This translated to six learning weeks per year.
The legal provisions under the Basic Education Amendment Act (2016) mandate the government of Kenya to ensure the provision of sanitary towels to every school-going girl who has reached puberty. The government is also compelled by the Act to ensure a safe and environmentally sound mechanism for the disposal of sanitary towels.