Topic: 2024-Gender Equality in Rural Areas
Country: Kenya
Delegate Name: Andrew Griffin
Position Paper: Kenya
Committee: United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): UN Women
Country: Kenya
Topic: Gender Equality in Rural Areas
I. Topic Background Kenya suffers from gender inequality. There are still rural areas in which women do not receive the educational, health, or financial opportunities available to them for seeking men, as women are the practical agents of family and community activity, albeit on the micro level. Women are far more likely to go without a voice and without the resources—technology, land, leadership—and resources available to their male counterparts. In addition, culturally mandated practices, in addition to geographically inaccessible entry, ensure women are even further deprived of expected equity and micro efforts when, if given the chance in a more macro sense, would contribute to national equity penetration.
II. Where Kenya stands Kenya understands that gender disparities relative to her rural populations need to be improved to ensure effective sustainable development. For instance, although women are a large percentage of Kenya’s farming labor force, they are not privy to all productive resources (i.e., fertilizer, micro loans, training). Furthermore, rural women do not achieve secondary education graduation rates as their urban counterparts because secondary schools are located farther away, infant marriages, and household responsibilities. Therefore, Kenya intends to tackle this challenge through her national policies and programming.
III. Proposed Actions Kenya’s situation with gender equity is not as far behind as one might think. The constitution provides women with rights to land and property since 2010, and with women’s constitutionally guaranteed equal positions in public policy determining proceedings. The Uwezo Fund grants women low-interest loans for small business endeavors; the government has offered micro-loans and loan forgiveness programs. The rural road infrastructure and telecommunications through mobile banking and mobile phones are intended to facilitate better access to education and health initiatives. But not enough for the most vulnerable. A national awareness campaign is necessary to change fixed attitudes that have existed for centuries.
IV. Solutions Proposed Kenya’s Initiative for Gender Equity Implementation in the Rural Sector Includes—better access to education. Increased access to educational opportunities: Partner with international NGOs to establish more schools in underserved regions. Implement mobile schooling and scholarships for rural girls to minimize distance and monetary issues that cause dropout. Increased access to health care: Fund mobile health units and telehealth initiatives to provide rural women with the reproductive and maternal health care they deserve. Employ and educate health workers to supplement health care availability gaps. Increased access to employment opportunities: Increase access to microloans and training for women in agriculture and entrepreneurship. Offer technology stipends to women to increase efficiencies in agriculture and other fields. Women empowerment via advocacy. Create mentorship and leadership opportunities for rural women to assume greater positions in local governance and policymaking. Work alongside male community leaders to challenge cultural expectations that prevent women from being visible in public. Increased infrastructure. Expedite rural electrical and telecommunication access to ensure that women are better equipped to travel to markets, schools, or hospitals. More efficiently repair or create transportation systems to alleviate the geographical seclusion of the rural environment. Kenya remains committed to collaborating with UN Women and other international partners to ensure that rural women have equal opportunities to thrive, recognizing their vital role in national development.
Works Cited
International Labour Organization. Care Work and Care Jobs for the Future of Decent Work. ILO, 2018.
Oxfam International. Time to Care: Unpaid and Underpaid Care Work and the Global Inequality Crisis. Oxfam, 2020.
United Nations. The World’s Women 2020: Trends and Statistics. United Nations, 2020.
United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Rural Women. The Contribution of Rural Women to Development. UN Women, 2018.
