All Kenyans must fight for equality

I learned from my parents at an early age that all rights to be deserved and preserved come from a duty well done.

Thus, the very right to live accrues to us only when we diligently perform the duty of citizenship of humanity.

Therefore, it is easy to define the duties of man and woman and correlate every right to some corresponding duty to be performed.

Any other right that contradicts the foregoing is an usurpation unworthy of fighting for.

My 20-plus years of social science studies brought me in communion with the unique challenges women face.

It opened my eyes to the discrimination, both subtle and overt, that they encounter throughout their lives. This was the seed of my unconcealed and oftentimes pointed feminism.

Through these studies, I realised that sexual-psychological stereotyping of females begins when the physician announces: “It’s a girl!” And, that pronouncement has consequences for all of us — both men and women.

For the reality is that in some cases, the girl is not allowed to be born.

If she is born, her survival is not guaranteed. If she survives, she does not get the status she deserves — equal to that of a boy.

This raised more questions than answers for me. Why do we celebrate the birth of a son and mourn the birth of a daughter?

Aren’t both gifts from God? How can we dismantle the stereotypes about how men and women should behave?

Gender-oriented discrimination is commonplace in our country.

Many women and girls are given little or no chance for formal education, forced into early marriage, and/or compensated at a lower rate than their male counterparts.

Misogyny creeps into words, jokes, and social media.

Undeniably, strong women such as Prof Wangari Maathai, Grace Ogot, Amina Mohamed, Martha Karua, Charity Ngilu, Dr Sally Kosgei, Martha Koome, Raychelle Omamo, Dr Naomi Kipuri, and Jemima Sumgong, among others, help to diminish the barriers by providing other women and girls with visible role models.

These women, and countless others, are trailblazers who demonstrate that women belong at management tables and corporate boards.

They raise the expectations of our daughters and sons for what is possible.

CULTURE CHANGE
We need to change the way we see ourselves as we are still boxed in by stereotypes about how men and women should behave.

We need to dismantle the attitude that models girls to be decorous and boys to be assertive, that castigates girls for speaking out and boys for shedding tears.

We need to knock down the attitude that scolds women for their sexuality but lionises men for theirs.

We need to abandon the culture that shines an unforgiving light on how women and girls look and feel and what they should or should not do.

Gender equality is the cornerstone of our Constitution. It is based on a simple truth: inequality inflicts harm, both physically and spiritually.

It enslaves and scars the souls of the affected. Both girls/women and boys/men are equally important in keeping our country ticking.

We have seen great advances in Kenya on this front — gender disparities in the workplace are less prevalent.

However, there is still a glass ceiling: women are sorely underrepresented in top corporate positions and constitute an infinitesimal fraction of chief executives.

Thus, there is still a lot of work that remains undone. Towards this end, we all need to diligently engage our young daughters to ensure that they are empowered.

Equally, we need to consistently engage our sons on the importance of gender parity.

For real change cannot occur if we do not teach every Kenyan the values of respect, equity, and equality.

Let us set an example for our daughters and sons so that they can, in turn, set an example for their daughters and sons.

MALE SUPPORT
Men have a critical role to play in supporting societal shift. They need to be at the core of the conversation.

They need to speak out in support of gender equality. And, importantly, they need to be proud of identifying themselves as feminists.

As Nelson Mandela reminded us, equality is not a threat, it is an opportunity.

Thus, we should not be afraid of the word feminism for it is only about everyone having the same choices.

Dear Kenyans, each time you stand up for the improvement of women lives, you send forth unending ripples of hope.

We shall have succeeded when a little girl born into depressing poverty knows that she has the same opportunity to succeed as anybody else; when she knows she is important and equal.

For womanhood is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.

Prof Kibicho is the author of Sex Tourism in Africa and Traditional Martial Arts. [email protected].