Let's bring men on board to end femicide: NGEC chairperson Rehema Jaldessa
One question which arises is whether the National Gender and Equality Commission is effective in the war against gender-based violence in Kenya.
A new report by Africa Uncensored and OdipoDev on the killing of women in Kenya indicates that the problem only seems to be getting worse despite unprecedented media coverage and public discourse surrounding the matter, with data showing that 2024 recorded the highest number of murders of girls and women.
In the face of these developments, one question which arises is whether the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) is effective in the war against gender-based violence in the country.
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The Eastleigh Voice reporter Barack Oduor spoke to NGEC chairperson, Rehema Jaldessa, about the report and why taming femicide seems increasingly impossible.
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Q: A new report on the killing of women in Kenya on Monday indicated that the problem only seems to be getting worse despite unprecedented media coverage and public discourse surrounding the matter, with data showing that 2024 recorded the highest number of murders of girls and women. Are you in possession of such a report?
A: We have received the report too. The National Gender and Equality Commission is gravely concerned about the findings in the report. It paints a dire picture, showing a significant increase in female murders in several counties.
The report came after we concluded an intensive one-week sensitisation forum in Murang'a, Meru, Taita Taveta, Migori, and Bomet because these counties were identified to be having the highest prevalence of gender-based violence. These forums provided a critical platform for dialogue with stakeholders, survivors, and community leaders to assess the root causes of GBV and strategise on effective interventions.
Q: What is the commission doing currently to end the increasing femicide cases in the country?
A: We are running several programmes within the commission to end this worrying vice. To begin with, we have partnered with law enforcement agencies in the justice sector to fast-track the cases of GBV. We have also been leading public awareness campaigns to help end harmful social and cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and even child marriages.
We are also at the forefront of pushing for gender-responsive budgeting in all sectors of the government to ensure adequate funding for all GBV programmes.
Q: Can you highlight exactly how this commission partners with actors in the justice system in the fight against gender-based violence?
A: As a commission, we are providing data and conducting a lot of research not only on GBV but also on other core areas around our mandate. These data are sometimes shared with the Judiciary.
Secondly, we receive complaints from Kenyans. When we do, we forward them to courts because as a commission, we do not have prosecution powers but we have quasi-judicial power to listen and either hand over the matter to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms or courts. We also promote GBV courts by the Judiciary and we are currently lobbying to have these kinds of courts rolled out to all counties.
Q: Constitutional commissions are inadequately funded and are thus suffering budget cuts. Is NGEC among state bodies underfunded and how do you overcome this to achieve your mandate?
A: To overcome inadequate funding challenges, we have been partnering with non-state actors to implement some of our programmes. Because of this, we have been able to sensitise the duty bearers on issues such as GBV and help them understand their roles in prevention and response.
We have also developed a GBV-integrated system. It's an online platform that is to be used across the country by all actors such as the Judiciary, DCI, NGOs, and national and county governments. This tool is very important if it can be put to use. We launched it but we need funds to make it operational. It's amazing because, from the click of a button, you will be able to follow GBV cases as reported on live time.
The commission has also partnered with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA) on several strategies to reduce GBV in Kenya, and one of the strategies is to pilot a GBV-free village in Kajiado County. This involves a lot of capacity building for the government officials at the grassroots level such as chiefs and their assistants, village elders and opinion shapers. The preliminary report is that there is a significant reduction in GBV cases.
We are also helping in running safe houses for GBV victims in Kajiado, Machakos, Nairobi and other parts of the country. We are working with devolved units to make the safe houses really safe and the government of Japan is supporting infrastructure as we support capacity building.
Q: The report recommends that getting to the heart of the problem will involve bringing men on board in the war against gender-based violence. What is your view?
A: I agree with that recommendation. We should ensure that men are included in the fight against GBV and all the interventions. Men feel left out in this and are instead engaging in non-meaningful activities such as drug and substance abuse. They sometimes suffer mental issues that lead them to commit violence against women just to prove that they must be heard.
The fact that the report indicated that these crimes occur between persons having intimate relationships makes us want to have men involved in discussions about ending GBV. Sometimes young men are not in employment or are not in proper income-generating activities, this in turn leads to issues of mental health thus making them violent.
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