Gender, power relations and Human right

By Waguma Judy

“The informal slogan of the Decade of Women became “Women do two-thirds of the world's work, receive 10 percent of the world's income and own 1 percent of the means of production.”



The gender commission of Kenya now calls for a formal recognition that women rights are human rights and that they apply to all fundamental freedoms.

Women's rights have not been observed in some countries as much as expected; in some places claims have been made that women's rights would be respected more, yet policies are sometimes not changed enough -- or at all, thus still undermining the rights of women.

Up to date a woman cannot be allowed to travel overseas with their children without the husband’s consent, says Dr Jacinta Muteshi, chairperson, national commission on gender and development.

Dr Muteshi says that women being the majority of Kenyans still live under the poverty line and some of these laws have had persistent and substantial inequalities on women.

Furthermore she says that women are still hugely affected by the social cultural values and practices that reinforce the unequal status between women and men.

The increasing incidences of violence against women, under-representation of women in key decision making, in public arena, parliament, local authorities and the burden of maternal mortality also indicate that governments are not living up to their promises.

Women rights it is said, is human rights and therefore every woman is entitled to it.

Kenya for instance has ratified the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDWA) that commits to incorporate principle of full equality in their legal system.

Also it establishes tribunals and other institutions to ensure the protection of women against discrimination.

However, Jacqueline Anam, chairperson of Coalition of Violence against Women (COVAW), says that the lack of political commitment and gender blind macro-economic frameworks in the country is the main reason that has continued to deprive the women.

“Women continue to sight unequal gender relations that leave them in a subordinated position to be the norm rather than the exception,” she explains.
Achieving gender equity requires more than equality of opportunity and resources, says Anam, it requires equality of outcomes for women and men.

“The way the society has been constructed it’s designatory against women and that’s why they have not moved on and they will not move on unless there are structures in place to support gender and this is in regard to the women”, says Anam

And for this reason, she says that the movement for gender equality has for decades been closely linked to the human rights movement, while the concept of women’s participation in governance on an equal footing with the men dates back at least to the fourth century.

“Women want to influence the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families, the political economy and destiny of their communities and nations, a well as the structure of the international relations,” says Anam.

Institutional transformations are needed to create the enabling environment for the economic and political empowerment of gender and especially women.

Gender hierarchies can be seen in a range of practices and ideologies that are both as a result and cause further unequal power relations

The laws are also disignatory, change of rules such like the immigration rules that does not permit a married woman to leave the country without the institution getting the authority from her husband.

Anam reiterates that institutions should revoke such rules because there is no need for the women to tag along their husbands to get permission to do certain things.

“In Gender and power relations, the women should move beyond their laptops to the ground to capture the real issues that affect them as women,” she adds.

Why are we still having the imbalance, Jacqueline posses, if we are having done everything right?

Laws and policies should embrace the imbalances that the women have in this nation and to ensure that the women’s right are human rights.

The translation of human right instruments include various policy makers and adoption and implementation of affirmative action measures wherever there is a perceived need, even in areas that appear to have little relevance to politics.

Dr Muteshi also adds that the concept of equality between men and women must be the bases of advancing rights in Kenya underpin all actions.

“Women and men must have equality before the law, as laws must prohibit and eliminate both legal and systematic discrimination on the basis of sex,” she adds.

Ends