By Phostine Nafula Wekesa, DevReporter, Tranzoia County
- “All day, every day, around the world a more gender-balanced world is being forged. Individuals and groups around the world are making concerted #Balance for Better world through tangible actions. From grassroots awareness raising to highly visible impactful campaigns, gender parity is being forged”
- The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2024 was; Invest in women: Accelerate progress.
- When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world.
- And when women themselves are included in all aspects of life, they get inspired and develop a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Each year, this day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality, even as it highlights the work that still needs to be done.
The campaign theme for 2024 underscored the crucial role of “inclusion” as one strategy for achieving gender equality. It called for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women are valued and respected.
The call to inspire inclusion was intended to encourage everyone to recognise the unique perspectives and contributions of women from all walks of life, including those from the rural areas and marginalized communities.
On 8 March 2024, Women in Transnzoia County marked the International Women’s Day (IWD), together with their Governor at the Kitale ASK show ground in style. The day was especially organised for Transnzoia women who also took the opportunity to launch the policy on Gender and Development for the county. The policy is intended to aid in improving the life of women in the county, and for this reason, it creates a number of opportunities for them. The Nawiri fund that was also launched on that day, sets clearly laid out plans for reaching out to the most vulnerable women in the society, for the purposes of helping to improve their lives.
His Excellency George Natembeya, the Governor for Tranzoia County, made a promise to ensure positive transformation in the lives of Tranzoia Women and Girls. He would achieve this by providing a conducive environment for them including through income-earning programmes.
Dr Margaret Karungaru from the National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC), also attended the celebrations where she articulated the mission of Commission; to ensure and promote gender equality among special interest groups such as women, children and PWDs. She ended by highlighting the deliberate effort made by the Transnzoia County Government to embrace the 2-third Gender Rule. She also recognized the formulation of progressive policies in the county that especially aim to enable women to forge forward, steadily.
