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She has defied all odds to become the first female chief in Vihiga.
The first impression you get when you meet Mrs. Joyce Meyesu is that of nonsense person who commands respect, yet beneath that look is sociable and jovial personality. Joyce is the chief of Jepkoyai Location, Tiriki west division, vihiga district. Considering the odds she has had to weather, it is amazing that she made it this far.
She hails from an area where a majority of the populace is conservative on matters concerning women. Women are looked down upon and are not allowed to engage in governance issues. To compound the situation, Joyce is not even Tiriki by birth but through marriage, though today she is widowed.
Joyce was born in 1963 in Ilungu village in Vihiga District. She attended Emalindi Primary School where she sat for and passed her Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) and consequently joined Lugulu Girl’s high school where she sat for her O-Levels. A year later she got married but continued to pursue various courses courtesy of various NGO’s. the short courses include: Family Life Education Programmes, Justice Peace and Reconciliation. Community Based Programme Management and Conflict Management Resolution, Gender Sensitization, Civic Education, Community Development and Leadership in Lusaka, Zambia.
As a result of these trainings’, Joyce believed she had all that was needed to assume a leadership position and make a difference in her locality. Her inspiration was triggered by two experiences she encountered in two organizations. The first was in the year 2003 while undertaking a course in Zambia organized by NCCK and the world council of churches where she wrote a research paper entitled “women in decision making and impact on development.” She had realized the gap in Kenyan governance as a result of non-involvement of women. The second was her involvement in various women empowerment seminars organized by CPDA under the Gender and Governance project.
The moment Joyce forwarded her application for the post of chief, the first challenge she encountered was that out of the 10 applicants for the post, she was the only female. This was a clear indication that she had ventured in a strictly male domain. The minute the applicants were narrowed down to two, including her, she knew she had to put on her amour plates ready to do battle with die-hard traditionalists who had vowed to sabotage her efforts. She qualified for the post but immediately after, an area councilor led a delegation of elders to protest to the vihiga district commissioner (DC) that her appointment was an insult to the Tiriki community and its traditions citing instances of how she would be able to preside over circumcision ceremonies (which were presided over by the area chief) yet she was a woman, a widow and did not hail from the Luhya sub-tribe.
After the DC listed to the complaints of the group, he dismissed their claim on the grounds that she was the best qualified candidate for the job and neither her gender nor the fact that she was widowed had anything to do with her ability to discharge the functions of the office, including presiding over circumcision ceremonies.
A year later in 2005, circumcision time was upon the community and this was one of her biggest tests. With the help of some allies within the community, she was able to lead the ceremony from a safe distance thereby discharging both the duties of her office and observing the culture of her people. Since then she has successfully arbitrated on behalf of boys born out of wedlock to partake of the ceremony even though they do not reside in their fathers homes as culture would dictate. She has also been instrumental in brokering peace between two warring groups in the area who were fighting over forestland. She has garnered the support of several women in community with the exception of a few traditionalists. This was made possible through CPDA’s neighbouring assembly framework in her area that sensitized community members on gender and leadership.
Joyce is now calling upon other women to engage in leadership as it is the only way they can achieve the needed numbers to influence policy directives and development in the country. Community members urged her to contest for a position of councilor but she declined opting instead to attend leadership training in Zambia in a bid to re-package her strategy. At the moment she is searching for funds to assist her enroll for studies since her next ambition is to become a District Officer. Her ultimate goal is to become a member of the Kenyan parliament from where she can effectively fight for pro-women policies.
source: The alternative forum - a publication of the ALIEDPK-project Christian Partners Developement agency
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