The theme of the Conference was: “Towards Enhancement of Affirmative Action in Kenya” and the objectives of the Conference were:
• To take stock of the state of Affirmative Action in Kenya
• To forge partnership and alliances towards the realization of Affirmative Action
• To share information and experiences and consolidate efforts
Minister of Gender, Children and Social Development, Hon. Esther Murugi Mathenge, opened the Conference, and referred to the fact that there are 680.000 women’s groups in Kenya. This means that if women join forces and decide to work together, they have a lot of power. The Minister further said that traditional attitudes are preventing women from participating fully in political life as well as in economic life. Her Ministry would support women to become economically empowered, and would also actively recruit women into public positions.
Norwegian Ambassador, Elisabeth Jacobsen, talked about Norway’s experiences with Affirmative Action, which has contributed to increased representation of women in politics. She said that Norway gives high priority to promoting gender equality in Kenya, primarily through the multi-donor supported “Gender and Governance-programme” (remarks attached).
As a follow-up, the Conference established a Task Force comprised of 12 participating organisations who would work together to implement the recommendations adopted by the Conference.
The report from the conference will be made avaialable and can be found at this page later.