Raila'a Promise to Women

October 23, 2007, Tuesday

ODM Presidential candidate Raila Odinga inducted Charity Ngilu into the Pentagon as he also made a solemn pledge to put women issues at the core of his policies when elected as president of the Republic of Kenya.

Raila said women will have equal opportunity of employment in his government, adding that he would also ensure the politics making women second class citizens are done away with.

“My government will be full of women,” Raila said, amid ululations from the jam packed gymnasium.

He said, “During the nominations, any male candidate harassing the female aspirants or who uses foul language against them will be disqualified.”

During the launch of his manifesto, Raila said that the new constitution based on the Bomas draft which he aimed to iintroduce, would go a long way in enshrining the legal status of women. Other promises he made to women are :

• Intensify efforts and actions to redress the existing, persistent gender disparities in Kenya, which hamper the full participation of women in our society.

• Introduce legislation which will ensure accessibility to and ownership of land as a factor of production.

• Ensure more girls enroll and remain in schools.

• Revise all oppressive practices, statutes, and customary laws that perpetuate gender discrimination.

• Advocate elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, and ensure that the criminal justice system is tough on the perpetrators of such heinous crimes.

• Improve women’s access throughout their lives to appropriate, affordable and quality health care, information services.

• Encourage the development of and promotion of environmentally friendly and affordable technologies that would reduce the burden on women.

• Consolidate and expand credit facilities and provide more business advisory services and skills training, so women have a better chance to run viable and sustainable businesses.

• Through affirmative action and other means, ensure a minimum 30 percent representation of women in government, local government, the foreign services and other areas of government and decision making institutions.