April 11, 2008


The Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Kenya on Tuesday 9th April 2008 released its 10th Annual Report, covering the period January 2007 to December 2007. The report dubbed: “So far, How far” details the organisation’s work towards improving the status of women in Kenya. In its analysis on Gender Based Violence (GBV), the report notes that many women in Kenya do not know their rights while those who do tend to ignore them for the best interest of their significant others.

According to the report, most violations happen to people who know each other well and more so perpetrated by the most intimate persons, hence reporting of such cases would be very minimal. Most violations occurred to married women with 49.20 per cent of the women interviewed saying they were married.

Likewise, the report observes that women with children were the most violated as they constituted a total of 74 percent compared to childless women and girls who constituted a total of 25 per cent of the interviewed.

The perpetrators of the violence

According to the report, most of the violations are domestic in nature; they happen in the family context. The findings of the report point a finger to husbands saying they are the most frequent perpetrators followed by relatives. Figures showed that 55 per cent of the violations were committed by husbands while relatives stood at 20.80 per cent.

The report also examines the role of women in democratic processes in Kenya and states thus: The 2002 general elections marked a major step forward for the country’s democracy with a record of 21 women parliamentarians in the 10th parliament. The highest number of women in the parliament ever.

The rise in the number of women representation in parliament is attributed to holistic civic education, “which ensured that democracy takes root in the community’s affair and in national institutions of government.”

The rural women folk got to know their rights, the report states. Through URAIA programme, they made informed decisions on community governance. Elections, it says are an important component of democracy and good governance.

Access to Justice

“So far How far”, calls for empowering of women to be able to represent themselves sufficiently in judicial matters. Owing to high levels of poverty, it says, Kenyans can not afford basic necessities of life such as food, shelter, and medical care “and where their rights are infringed, they can not access justice owing to the high level cost of legal services in the country.”

Given the large numbers of women seeking legal services, the report observes, it has become increasingly difficult for the organisation to represent all of them in court. Self representation, it recommends, noting that it is a faster method of disposing off cases as it is not dependent on the availability of counsels for cases to proceed for hearing in court.

FIDA appreciates the role played by the media. The media it notes is an important ally in advocating for any rights, “The majority of people can only be reached through the media. Public litigation is not about winning in court; it is a bout defending something that can be seen to affect the public.” Says the report.