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Website Development & maintenance by The African Centre for
Women, Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT)
www.acwict.or.ke
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Firsts for Women in Kenya
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Mary Mwangangi, MBS, DSM
When she retired from the Kenya Police Force in July, 2005, Mrs. Mary Mwangangi left behind a distinguished service record spanning 34 years.
Bowing out as Deputy Commissioner of Police – perhaps the first woman in independent Kenya to reach such a rank, Mrs. Mwangangi was just two rungs away from the ultimate post in the police system. more  |
Hon.Martha Karua
Hon. Martha Wangari Karua was born in 1957 in Kirinyaga district. She is the Member of Parliament for Gichugu constituency.
She was the first woman lawyer to be elected to Parliament. She has been a leading national politician. Hon. Karua is currently the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs. more |
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Grace Emily Akinyi Ogot
East Africa's best-known woman author, Grace Emily Akinyi Ogot wrote novels and short stories. She also became an important political figure in modern Kenya.
She is the first female writer from Kenya to win international attention and she was the first woman to have fiction published by the East African Publishing House. more |
Winifred Nyiva Mwendwa
For the first time in the history of Independent Kenya, a woman was appointed to the
Cabinet, the Hon. Winfred Nyiva Mwendwa, M.P. (Kitui West). Mrs. Mwendwa held the portfolio of Culture and Social Services. more
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Olive Mugenda
Professor Olive Mugenda, a holder of a Bachelor of Education (Home Economics) First Class Honours degree (Kenyatta University), Masters of Science (Family and Consumer Economics (Iowa State University, U.S.A) Doctor of Philosophy in Family Studies and Education (Iowa State University, USA) become the first woman to be named public university Vice Chancellor in Kenya in March 2006. more |
Charity Ngilu
In Kenya’s NARC government, Minister of Health Charity Ngilu-born in 1952- is regarded as a powerful player and a role model for a younger generation of female politicians.
When Ngilu announced in 1997 that she intended to run for Kenya’s presidency, excitement rippled across the country. As the first woman presidential candidate in sub-Saharan Africa, Ngilu was a trailblazer on a continent known for its corrupt “Big Men.” more |
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Bishop Margaret Wanjiru
Bishop Wanjiru- a single mother of three- become the first Pentecostal woman in Kenya to be ordained to the pastorate. Margaret Wanjiru, who rejected occultism while weathering stiff resistance to her decision to become a Christian in 1990, is founder and senior pastor of The Nairobi Miracle Centre Church, a church of more than 25,000 and one of East Africa's largest Pentecostal congregations. more |
Tegla Loroupe
Loroupe holds the world records for 20, 25 and 30 kilometres and previously held the world marathon record. She has run farther in one hour than any woman in history. She is the three-time World Half-Marathon champion. She was the first African woman to win the New York City Marathon, which she has won three times. She has won marathons in London, Boston, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Berlin, Rome and dozens of other cities. more |
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Wangari Maathai
There are many firsts in Wangari Maathai's life. In 1971, she was among the first women in East Africa to obtain a PhD (Doctor of Philosophy degree). Five years later, she became the first woman in the region to chair a university department. In the 1980s, she gained notoriety for becoming one of the first Kenyan women to obtain a divorce, at a time when it was taboo in polite Kenyan society. And today, at the age of 64, she has become the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. more |
Agnes Siyiankoi
A Masai woman struck fear into the hearts of men throughout Kenya when she became the FIRST woman to defy tribal tradition and took her husband to court for wife-beating in 1997. more
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Prof Judi Wakhungu
She was the first woman geologist in the Ministry of Energy and Regional Development, where her duties entailed exploring for geothermal energy in Kenya's Rift Valley. Prof. Wakhungu was also the first female petroleum geologist in the National Oil Corporation of Kenya. She was also the first female faculty member in the Department of Geology at the University of Nairobi. more |
Lt. Norah C. Koech
On Friday 15th September 2006, Lt Norah Cherop Koech made history when she became the first female KAF officer to graduate from the Flying Training School as a pilot and subsequently becoming the first operational pilot in the service-a profession that has been the preserve of male officers. more
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Captain Irene Koki Mutungi
Captain Ms. Irene Koki Mutungi born in 1997 heralded her promotion with a maiden flight from Nairobi to Entebe aboard KQ 410 accompanied by an all –women crew: a Flight Officer, Flight Engineer, Flight Purser and Flight Attendants.The first Kenya Airways woman captain, of a Boeing 767-300, Irene Mutungi flew a special all ladies flight to mark her promotion. more
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Prof. Ruth Oniang'o
Prof Oniang’o has had to take leave of absence from her university position as Professor of Food Science and Nutrition at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, Nairobi, in order to serve in Parliament. Ruth Oniang’o became the first Nutrition professor in Kenya and probably the first woman Nutrition professor in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. more
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Dr. Julia Ojiambo
The second general elections were held on October 14, 1974 upon the dissolution of the Second Parliament on September 08, 1974 . Two additional female Members were elected, Vis-à-vis: the former Dr. the Hon. (Mrs.) Julia Auma Ojiambo to represent Busia Central and the former Hon. (Miss) Philomina Chelagat Mutai to represent Eldoret North.
Dr. the Hon. (Mrs) Ojiambo, was appointed an Assistant Minister thus becoming the first female to be elevated to Ministerial status in Kenya . more |
Grace Aketch Onyango, 67, first woman mayor (Kenya)
Onyango's involvement with grassroots women's organisations and the Kenya National Union of Teachers began a political career that saw her make history in Local Authority politics, with her election as the Mayor of Kisumu town in 1965 at only 27; which indeed, was the first time a female had headed a local authority not only in Kenya but also in the whole of East Africa. more |
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About GGP
The overall goal of the GGP is to transform
leadership and governance at all levels in Kenya in
order to deliver on poverty reduction, access to basic
needs and equality between and among persons. More
Read the GGP II Strategic Plan |
| President Kibaki pledges 50:50 equality ratio in public service employment |
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has urged women in the country to take full participation in business activities from the smallest to the largest enterprises and called upon them to nurture a culture of saving accumulations of their returns which he termed as “essential to the success of business enterprises.” The president added that women should adopt thrift and prudent spending as their guiding business principles.
“I encourage you to open bank accounts, which are an essential financial management and planning tool in modern business,” more
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| From the ACWICT news desk |
ICT, entrepreneurship and life skills training for women
The African Centre for Women, Information and  Communications Technology (ACWICT) in partnership with Microsoft Corporation’s Unlimited Potential Program and the International Youth Foundation is inviting applications from suitable women candidates for ICT, entrepreneurship and life skills training. Click here for more
Change of secretariat
We have moved to Makueni Road, Off Othaya Road, Kileleshwa. Our new telephone numbers are +254 20 2068162 / 386290 |
| Announcements |
Women Aspirants
Kindly send us short bios/profiles and pictures.
Watch our Television Programme, Together on The Move (TOTM)
STV - Tuesdays 8.00 P.M
KBC - Sunday 5.00 P.M
See TOTM Synopsis |
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