The Rural Woman

Defining a rural woman poses a challenge, is it out of her physical residence or the circumstances she finds herself in. I engaged with an audience at the Quora platform and I got different responses. A rural woman is mostly seen as a person who comes from the rural areas.  There are other aspects of the behavior where a rural woman is considered to work too hard to have a fantasy life. The perspective of a rural woman about the urban woman is that she has a flashy life, she is arrogant, proud, too outspoken and selfish. The inability of her to wrap her mind around the behavior of the urban woman is not only a culture shock but generates the name ‘rural woman’ or her being backward. The urban woman considers rural woman as being ‘polite and humble’, not being able to fend for herself or rather low levels of education or those in vocational training centers. She is considered to be rigid and not open minded, not fluent in English which is used as a yardstick. All these just boil down to stereotypes of rural women to be raw and unrefined.

A rural woman is marginalized by the stereotypes that surround her. Empowerment of rural woman heavily depends on agriculture as her source of income and food. She plays the biggest role in food nutrition and security. She, however, gets subjected to unpaid work as she is mostly engaged as a family worker. But there is more to a rural woman than just agriculture. 80% of the women contribute to agriculture, planting, weeding, and income is earned by the men. The legal and cultural constraints make it impossible for women to own land or participate at the decision-making level to influence how land is utilized. Not every other woman have the interests in farming. The obstacles surrounding her efforts to own land limits her ability to engage in cash crop farming as a source of income. Most of the capacity building and sensitization in the rural areas is done on topics related to agriculture.

A rural woman often picks up triple roles; productive, reproductive and community roles. She shields the heavy burden of reproductive and community roles. She spends her time, fetching water, getting and cooking food, caring for the sick and the old. Low literacy levels continue to create the gap between the urban and the rural woman not forgetting the poor infrastructure and public services offered and fewer opportunities that are available to them. A rural woman is always taken from the village to come and help in the urban areas in child rearing or to take care of the sick. If not the sick are taken to the village and another burden is added to her daily expected gender roles. The amount of time the rural woman spends on the reproductive and community roles sips away all the hope they would have had in either getting a formal education, vocational training or extension, and entrepreneurship training.

Rural women are not homogenous, their dependence on agriculture does not translate to all of them engaging in agricultural activities.

By: Nyabena Susan

International Women’s Day

International women’s day is here, crowning March as the month of women. This day is commemorated annually on the 8^th of March globally to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements realized by women. International Women’s Day was first celebrated on 19^th March 1911, which has realized great evolution, achievements and success for Women’s Rights globally.

The theme for 2018 is “The Time Is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives” with Ultra-Violet as the theme color.

As we approach the end of the African Women Decade (AWD), the themes given by the UN have allowed the government, international, regional and national organizations to implement the different themes.

The themes during the African Women’s Decade;

1.    2011: Equal Access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women

2.    2012: Empower Rural Women, End Poverty, and Hunger

3.    2013: A Promise is a Promise “Time for Action to End Violence Against Women

4.    2014: Equality for Women is Progress for All

5.    2015: Empowering women, Empowering Humanity; Picture it!

6.    2016: Planet 50-50 by 2030; Step it up for Gender Equality

7.    2017: Women in the Changing Work of World: Planet 50-50 by 20130

8.    2018: Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activist Transforming Women’s Lives

Kenya has made efforts to implement the different themes of the year by having programs and initiatives. The article will focus on 4 main social thematic area that the Government of Kenya has implemented.

1.   Economic empowerment

Women have benefited greatly since the inception of Women Enterprise Fund in 2007 that has realized the disbursement of KES 8.3 million and the Uwezo Fund KES 5.1 million in 2013 according to President’s Delivery Unit. They have had opportunities and economic access to the funds as start-ups to their business. The ability to access funds having submitted their proposals and business ideas help to curb the challenge they face when in need of credit from the banks or micro-finance enterprises. There is still a gap at the implementation level and the impact of the funds to the women. The use of table banking and mobile banking has been a great avenue for the rural women to save and get credit being the solution of having collateral when using formal banking. The government also has the procurement program that facilitates the youth, women, and persons with special needs-owned enterprises to participate in government procurement. This was done through the implementation of the Presidential Directive that 30% of government procurement opportunities be set aside specifically for these enterprises. It is an Affirmative Action aimed at empowering youth, women, and persons with disability-owned enterprises by giving them more opportunities to do business with Government (President’s Delivery Unit).

Education enrollment and retaining of women and girls in schools has increased significantly and realized great transition of girls from primary to secondary to tertiary education through the Affirmative Action by reducing their entry points and girls. Having an increase in women and girls literacy levels places them on the platform to compete for resources. 

2.   Social Inclusion and Empowerment

The cash money transfer to the elderly, persons living with disability and orphans and vulnerable children has helped reduce the burden on women as caregivers. The money helps to facilitate access to different basic services for the vulnerable community.

Customary traditions and practices have reduced great. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been legalized and anyone who perpetuates FGM is considered to violate Children’s Rights. Safe houses for young girls escaping from early marriages have helped to retain the girls in school.

3.   Political Inclusion

The Constitution of Kenya (2010) recognizes women’s social, economic, cultural and political rights in all institutions of governance including political party structures and other organs of decision making. It emphasizes on the two third gender principle in all appointive and elective positions and decision making positions to eliminate gender discrimination and inequality.

Representation of women in the parliament has reduced the gender inequality gap. At the Cabinet level, women hold 25.5 percent of the positions while 37 percent hold high-level positions in the judiciary, 34 percent Principal Secretary Positions.

Women’s Representative Potions has allowed women to identify gaps and issues of fellow women at the county levels and addressing them

4.   Health

Provision of free maternity services program in public hospitals has increased safe deliveries nationwide by skilled health providers. Beyond Zero Campaign by the First Lady H.E, Margaret Kenyatta made access to health services by the rural women. The NHIF expansion services also allow the free maternal services to be covered and give pre and post-natal services.

Women in Kenya should make efforts to embrace the opportunities, services, and resource made at their disposal for their development. The national and international instruments should be used to make the government accountable for the implementation of Women Rights.

I urge women to come out and participate fully economically, socially and politically. Advocating for women rights who are not willing to come upfront poses a challenge to implement the different policies and instruments.      

By: Nyabena Susan