Summer Issue 2006

Issue 2, 2003

The media in the West often concentrate on the problems within Africa — poverty, AIDS, female genital mutilation, street crime and political corruption — without always reporting on the positive projects and people who are working to bring about change. During a two week visit in October to Kenya Mary Noble, Saija Toth and myself experienced this other side of life first hand. We found ourselves wanting to bring back some of the generic hospitality, open warmth, friendliness, service and cheerfulness that we found everywhere we went. We met many people who are completely motivated to helping others by being ‘Agents of Change.’ Their example left us feeling truly inspired by their attitude, hard work and belief. What follows is a brief look at some aspects of their lives and what they are hoping to change.

Tasaru Girls' Refuge

The Tasaru Girl's Refuge is a safe house in Nakuru just under 100 miles west of Nairobi in mostly Massai territory where 95% of the women are circumcised and have arranged marriages. It offers a safe haven for girls escaping families that would force them into both FGM and early marriages. The girls are given counselling, education and information on alternatives. It currently has facilities for 48 girls.

The founder, Agnes Pareyio, was born into a typical Massai village and lived with her family in a mud hut. Her father had been forced to go to school by the British authorities who governed Kenya during his childhood. Seeing the benefits of education, he sent Agnes, her sister and brother to school, which was fairly unusual for girls. Though only at school for a few years, her education provided her with the ability to help other Massai women and she was voted into a position to lead a Massai women's initiative.

In the mid 1990s this women's initiative became concerned that the schools were attended by far more boys than girls. The women decided to do something about it and this led Agnes on a path to creating the Tasaru girls' refuge.

Now a grandmother of two and mother of four, Agnes has not had an easy journey herself. She accepted, against her better judgement, being circumcised at the age of 14 because her mother and grandmother were so insistent and ashamed of her refusing, however, she realised immediately that it was wrong. She then married, but later her husband didn't approve of her activities and when he married for a second time, she took her four children and raised them alone. This pioneering of Massai women's independence has put her in good stead as an example to other women that it can be done. Agnes said, "When a woman cries because her husband has left her I say she should either find herself another one or get on with life alone."

Agnes has a strong vision of one day all girls being able to say, "'This is my life." She explained, "They need to understand that they have a right to live and to choose what they want to do and to understand that the world will be theirs tomorrow. There is so much expected of them, but they need to be able to choose for themselves and be proud of who they are."

COVAW councillor Grace Mbugua

Agnes Pareyio has the vision that all girls can say: “This is my life." "They need to understand that they have a right to live and to choose what they want to do and to understand that the world will be theirs tomorrow.”

It was an inspiration to visit the Tasaru girls' refuge in Narok where Chris Oloshurro Murray and Emily Chemeli Keter introduced us to their work there and gave us a tour of their facilities. It was Chris who gave me the idea for the title for this article, as he explained that he saw himself and the girls who are pioneering self-choice as Agents of Change.

Like Agnes, Chris was born and raised in a Massai village. Whilst at school he became inspired to become a teacher himself. Asked how he became involved in the Tasaru project, he explained that a few years ago he had a very bright young girl in his class. One day she stopped coming to school and upon investigation Chris found out that she was being prepared for circumcision and marriage, neither of which she wanted to happen. Making enquiries how he could help her, Chris came across Agnes and the Tasaru refuge and brought the young girl there. She is now attending school and still getting top marks.

It takes quite some strength of will for girls to come to the refuge. It mostly means a girl leaving her parents and family behind, perhaps forever, and going into an unknown future. Santeyian Kewua, aged 16, took the plunge two years ago and came to the refuge and was offered the possibility of going to school. Agnes negotiated with her mother (her father being dead some years) and managed to reason with her to accept Santeyian's decision to not be circumcised. This meant she could go home during the holidays.

But her uncles told her 18 year old brother that he should circumcise his two sisters so he could marry them off and get a dowry.

In early October their mother was away at a meeting for the weekend. On the Saturday morning her brother and four men burst into the room where Santeyian was sleeping with her sister Dorcas and forcefully circumcised both girls. It was Sunday morning before their mother came home and found the two girls lying bleeding on the floor. She rushed them to hospital and went in search of Agnes.

Santeyian's wish is to see her brother imprisoned, as since the year 2000 circumcision has been illegal in Kenya, although still widely practiced. The police were slow to react and her brother escaped and is unlikely to be punished. Still, Santeyian wants to see justice done. She doesn't want to sit quietly as a submissive woman, but fight for her rights and be an Agent of Change for others.

In the playground of one of the six schools the Tasaru girls attend, we met a group that the Tasaru initiative has helped rescue. Asked what her greatest wish was, one bright girl called Phyllis said, "To be a lawyer and help others." She has escaped into a life of self-choice and wants to help others do the same.

We left some notebooks, pens and pencils for the girls' schooling and hope to be able to provide them with some of the computers they desperately need via the 'Computers for Development' project run by Millicent Odongo and written about in the last issue of Feminenza Magazine. Please see our website (www.feminenza.org) for details of how you can also help.

AMWIK

Another group which we found really inspiring to talk to was The Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK). We first met Pamela Mburia and Eliza Chege and later a larger group of members at their offices. In 1983 AMWIK began to promote the interests of women through the media and have been working to forge a society that has equal access to opportunities. They promote understanding and awareness of women's issues in Kenya and try to ensure that the issues receive balanced media coverage. Pamela and Eliza told us about one such story that took place whilst we were in Kenya.

Fifteen year old Sabina Lesampei, a Samburu from northern Kenya, appealed for help for the baby she had been carrying for five months. According to Samburu tradition a girl may not have a baby if she is not circumcised, as it is believed that she would bring bad luck upon herself and her family. Samburu tradition also says no child of an uncircumcised mother must be allowed to live. So uncircumcised pregnant girls are taken into the bush to give birth and the baby is killed by force feeding it tobacco or lethal herbs.

Sabina's situation is further complicated by the fact that her boyfriend has not been circumcised either. Samburu elders have told Sabina's mother that if she were to be circumcised before the birth of her baby, she could keep the child. But her mother is so poor, she doesn't even have the money to pay for the circumcision ceremony. She and Sabina are fighting to defend the child's life.

Recent media coverage of another girl's cry for help made it possible for her to give birth in a Catholic hospital to a healthy baby boy called Moses. If she took the baby home she would be ostracised by her people and there was still a big risk that Moses would be killed, so she left her son for the hospital to find adoptive parents to give him the care she couldn't. But at least he was alive.

By highlighting these issues in the media AMWIK hopes to help change these traditions and help such babies survive and allow women to have a better life. The political situation was such that the media was strongly controlled, but since the change in government and the loosening of control within the media, AMWIK is bringing such stories into the consciousness of Kenyan people and onto the political agenda.

Besides addressing specific women's issues, AMWIK aims to promote an open discussion on AIDS and child labour as well as help further children's education. They often link up with other organisations on various issues and are campaigning this year to eliminate child labour. The famous Kenyan singer Eric Wainaina will be the campaign's champion and has especially written a song about child labour.

AMWIK offers media training to other women's groups to enable them to better promote themselves. At the time we were speaking with a COVAW (see below) representative, some of the women were taking part in AMWIK's media training. When we met other members, such as Chairwoman Rose Lukalo-Owino, Dorcas Kimbwarata, Jane Nyingi and Penninah Kiniiza, we felt the strength of this group of women as Agents of Change; they are filled with passion to see a more just Kenya.
www.amwik.org

COVAW

The Coalition on Violence against Women is a women's human rights organisation that is committed to the eradication of all forms of violence against women and the promotion of women's human rights. Their motto is, 'No one is safe, until women are safe.'

COVAW counsellor Grace Mbugua spent a couple of hours telling us about some of the stories typical of the patients she deals with. These include women imprisoned in their homes unable to see the light of day for years. Women and children battered physically and emotionally by men. She told us of a nine year old girl who was so badly raped she had to spend months in hospital being physically reformed. The staff of COVAW all gave personal money to help the girl begin a new life.

Apart from being offered legal aid, counselling and general support, women who come to COVAW for help are encouraged to become independent and given the support to start a new life. Loans are given for women to set up their own businesses, to only be paid back when the women have enough profit to be able to afford it. The money is then lent to another woman who then reports to the women whose repaid loan she received as a starter loan, thus creating a mutual support system. Often a woman turns up at COVAW with only the clothes she is wearing. A message is sent around to other women who then bring clothes or items to help her begin a new life. In this way women experience the self-respect of looking after themselves and paying back to help others, as well as creating a support structure of friends.

Grace was so clearly a deeply motivated woman. Wanting to be a counsellor since she was young, it has only become an accepted profession a few years ago, so she left her job and started the training to work in this field. COVAW is not the only way she endeavours to help those in need. Together with nine other couples she and her husband donate time and money to a school in the poorest area of Nairobi so that children there can receive a good education. As Agnes Pareyio also said, "Education is what is needed for the future. It is vital if many are to break out of the situation they are in." It was clear from those we spoke to, that it doesn't take much to open a child's mind to other forms of reasoning, rather than dogmatically accepting tradition, because that's the way it's always been done. Grace told us stories of clients she has counselled which could leave no one unmoved and highlighted the pain one human can inflict on another. When asked how she deals with all that she has to cope with, her first answer was, "What keeps me going is the teamwork we've got here." This was clearly tangible in the COVAW building as we toured around and met different members of the team. A strongly motivated and caring group of ladies and one courageous man are Agents of Change for hundreds of people.

COVAW is currently spearheading a project aiming to ratify the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. Should you wish to join their petition, please go to: www.pambazuka.org/petition
www.covaw.or.ke

Soroptimist

Meeting Terry Odongo, Jane Adewa and Redempta Kehr was quite an experience. Redemta showed us many conference facilities and drove us to some of our appointments. Terry and Jane took us to a local Kenyan club to learn African dancing to live music played by a brilliant band of musicians from former Zaire.

In the meantime we learnt more about Soroptimist and the local Kenyan activities. Soroptimist is a worldwide NGO (None Government Organisation) of women in management and the professions with 100,000 members in 123 countries. They work to advance the status of women, human rights, development and peace through international good will, understanding and friendship.

Terry is the President of Soroptimist Kenya and Jane and Redempta are part of the Nairobi group. One of their projects is to help a school in a poor area of Nairobi where money is needed for every aspect of education, to which Feminenza donated pens, pencils and crayons. Soroptimist has just completed creating a play area for the children to ensure they can be safe when taking breaks.

Alongside her Soroptimist work, Jane is also a member of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) which has a vision "to achieve a clean and healthy environment for all" and "to promote, safeguard and enhance the quality of the environment." Their motto is "Our Environment
our Wealth."
www.nema.go.ke

We were definitely left with the feeling that these three women are a force to be reckoned with!
www.soroptimist.org

MMAAK

As with meeting Chris Oloshurro Murray, meeting four of the MMAAK gents was really moving. They spoke with such a strength and determination of their convictions and what they are fighting for. We also felt their incredible gentleness that seemed to be a unique quality that some of the Kenyan gentlemen carry. It puts one at ease and they do not carry the up-front hatred, anger or reactivity that can accompany the type of issues they deal with; it makes one believe in their ability to succeed. Like a beaver continually biting into the wood of a tree that eventually will tumble, their quiet determination inspires confidence that they will change men's thinking in Kenya.

MMAAK is the Movement of Men against AIDS in Kenya. National Co-ordinator Michael Onyango was diagnosed with AIDS some years ago and was disturbed by the lack of constructive support for men with AIDS. So MMAAK was set up to offer the type of support men with AIDS need. But as many women have found when dealing with women's issues, any gender issue involves the other gender and women are also benefiting greatly from MMAAK's work.

The men of MMAAK offer workshops and counselling to men around the country. They have five centres from which they operate, aiming to staunch this terrible illness, save lives and alleviate much of the suffering. This includes breaking many of the traditional gender norms and reversing roles such as including men in caring, giving them awareness of such things as taking care of the legalities associated with their forthcoming death on behalf of their wives. "We try to tell men to be responsible for their actions, for whatever they do, that it's a shared responsibility. If we don't get men to think differently about traditions then we go nowhere," explains Michael.

They teach that using condoms is not a sign of weakness, and that true masculinity comes from working together with women. "It's like in our culture young boys are pushed into having sex in order to prove their manhood. If this could be changed so they would stay celibate until they get married a lot less people would suffer from AIDS" explains Michael. The MMAAK men teach that having sex with
many women is irresponsible, rather than manly, and that rape, especially of young girls, is totally wrong. Nick said, "This has been long overdue. And when the men realise that, they want to come aboard, and want us to come back next week and the week after because they become really urgent."

FIDA

FIDA, the Federation of Women Lawyers is a registered non-profit organisation of women lawyers and women law students committed to creating a society that is free from all forms of injustice and discrimination against women. They believe in a world free from violence, oppression and all other kinds of genderbased discrimination.

Jane Onyango from FIDA

One of their activities is drafting proposals for the Kenyan Government, hoping to create more awareness and importance for women's issues. They work closely with the Ministry of Gender, which currently is a Ministry combined with sport and culture. Judging by budgetary spending, football is seen to be more important than gender issues, but FIDA are working to change this. They also make case studies on laws that need seriously reviewing in the hope of bringing about change.

The Kenyan government is still a male bastion and Jane Onyango told us how last year FIDA took on a case of an MP who had battered a woman. The women of FIDA were strongly attacked by members of the Government who slung personal accusations at them. But they will not be stopped by such mud slinging, as they believe and see evidence of the fact that what they are doing is changing lives for the better.

Apart from government issues and giving direct help to the women who need legal aid but can't afford it, FIDA offers training programmes to increase awareness and understanding among the police, doctors and counsellors. Many times a battered woman going to the police is sent home and told not to waste their time, or the police don't know how to handle the situation.

Jane explained that this year there has been a rise in rape cases, which is probably AIDS related. And even though female circumcision is illegal, it is still largely practiced, as are arranged marriages with girls as young as 12 years old, even though the law states that it is illegal to have sex with a child under 16 years of age. Though laws are in place, in the majority of cases there is little retribution, and in many cases the laws are unknown. FIDA work to press charges against perpetrators, so people
will begin to know about the laws and understand that these crimes really are illegal and therefore liable to punishment.

FIDA travel over various parts of Kenya offering workshops, legal counselling and information. 75.1% of the violations they deal with occur in the home, but many women are afraid to press charges because of children, finances, traditions or fear of repercussions. But as organisations such as FIDA show that there is a legal way to protect oneself, more and more women are coming forward to claim their rights, as they see there is a chance for justice. Each one of them that does so is part of the chain of change.
www.fidakenya.org

From these and other conversations it looks like there are aspects of Feminenza’s work which might be of benefit to these Agents of Change, whilst there is a great deal we can learn from them. Currently we are looking into holding a Feminenza conference in Kenya next year in cooperation with some of the groups mentioned above. Feminenza magazine will keep you up-to-date about further developments.

As you can imagine, there is a lot of assistance and money needed to help all the above projects. Feminenza is looking into shipping computers to some of the projects in association with the charity Computers for Development. Some organisations have asked us for postcards from around the world and for addresses of potential pen pals. We are also collecting donations to help, in all sorts of areas where money is needed and makes such a difference.

Should you wish to help please go to www.feminenza.org. Should you have fundraising ideas, computers to offer, etc., please contact me at . More pictures and information are available about our trip to Kenya on the website.

Return to article index for issue 3, 2004 of Feminenza Magazine