Kenya has ensured that women empowerment and the war against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) which has been on the rise since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is a top priority in its agenda to tackle.
The country’s Gender Cabinet Secretary, Professor Margaret Kobia, speaking at a virtual meeting of Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Action Group (CWAMAG), noted that there are collaborative efforts ongoing with other Commonwealth countries to share and develop best practices on safeguarding the rights of women generally.
“We are discussing commonwealth priorities including women’s economic empowerment and Gender-Based Violence with a view to sharing good practices and lessons learned towards recovery processes from the pandemic and rebuilding efforts that can involve women’s leadership and girls’ interests,” she said.
Ms. Kobia explained that the government established 36 shelters in 13 counties through the National Government Affirmative Action to handle cases related to GBV, while a Gender declaration was adopted by the Group to guide implementation by the member countries.
“The Action Group adopted the updated Gender Declaration which was favourably welcomed by member countries in the context of increased gender inequality during the pandemic (and), the declaration will help guide the Ministerial Action Group Terms of Reference and Agenda,” she said.
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