Making Women Voices Count
Gone are the days when many African communities regarded women as weaker, feeble and most of the time viewed as people whose main chore was to bear children and look after them and who would never be called a leader anywhere where men were. They were to be under the control of men.
But now this has changed in most places for instance in Marsabit County, the process has been launched under Making Women Count Project which aims to give the women from this region a chance, more power and a greater voice in issues related to leadership, security and peace to ensure that women too are given an equal opportunity to be heard and felt in the community and world at large in tackling various issues that affect the community.
Top leaders from the county as well as the national government vowed to sensitize the heads of both governments on the planned programs in the project to see that this gender discrimination is eradicated in the region. The contribution of these leaders have made great achievements in the success of the project.
Making Women Count Project is a project that will provide opportunities for mothers to be fully involved in leadership planning as well as decision-making.
This three-year project here in the region is funded by the United Nations Women.
Other Organizations that will implement the project in the region include the Saku Accountability Forum SAF, Marsabit Women Advocacy and Development Organization MWADO, Community Initiative Facilitation Assistance CIFA and Strategies for Northern Development SND
The director for Saku Accountability Forum James Jarso Forole said the time has come for the women of Marsabit to share the same table with their male counterparts in senior positions in leadership, security issues and also decision-making.
The non-governmental organizations in the region will implement the project in different parts of the county. Making Women Count Project is a three-year project in the region.
"We have agreed with other organisations that in the first year, we as the main organisation who came up with this project, that we shall divide this project as follows; SAF will be serving SAKU, SIFA will be carrying out the project in Laisamis, MADO will be serving North Hole and SND will be carrying out the project in Moyale. " added Mr. Forole.
Despite the existence of other similar projects, Forole said the implementation of the Making Women Count Project will take a different direction as it will assist the Marsabit county government and the national government in devising a plan to directly involve women in Marsabit region.
Forole also said a similar plan but at the national level is being implemented by the central government but the one they are creating will fully enlighten the woman of the pastoralist community of this region as it has completely different needs from other counties in the country.
"Just like other countries, Kenya as a country has come up with a plan and the first one was carried out between 2016 and 2018 and when that period elapses the national government in May 2020 came up with another one which will run till 2024 and it is because of this directive that we people of Marsabit has come up with our own project because the needs of Marsabit people is far different from other places in Kenya and we want to deal with issues that affects us directly, "said Forole
According to Forole Marsabit province would be the first in Kenya to have a comprehensive plan to empower mothers and play a role in the implementation of major leadership and peacekeeping responsibilities.
The Making Women Count Project said Forole will reach out to rural women through in-field training provided by paralegals, women leaders and grassroots organizations.
He said mothers in the state of Marsabit face many challenges including lack of education, a culture that is outdated, according to Forole, their main aim is not to fight tradition that has been there for years but to enlighten the community elders to be able to see the benefits of involving women in developmental and leadership agenda so as to be able to balance between the tradition woman and the enlighten one, who is more beneficial to the community than the other, among other obstacles.
He said that after three years the Making Women Count Project would have achieved its key goals and would be glad to see that mothers are well presented and effectively participating in peace building, conflict management and disasterised governance and also to be able to be heard in various debates and be influential and see that the women from the region benefit from this process.
