Nyeri government has unveiled a five-year plan to promote gender equality.
The Gender and Development Policy 2021-2025 policy will see the county incorporate gender into its programmes and policies.
Nyeri becomes the seventh county to make deliberate steps to address gender inequality. It joins Makueni, Kajiado, Meru, Migori, Kisumu and Isiolo counties.
Governor Mutahi Kahiga said the plan will lay a strong foundation to promote social inclusion
Adoption of the policy means the county commits to addressing all forms of historical gender concerns.
“The policy will help create a more equitable society by ensuring equal access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities and political participation," Kahiga said.
"We are committed to eliminating all forms of GBV and discrimination, and creating an environment where both men and women can reach their full potential.”
He spoke during the unveiling of the policy.
Gender and social services executive Esther Ndung’u said the county is still recording incidents of SGBV which have hampered development.
She said the policy will tackle different enabling factors.
Whereas the policy pegs more focus on the establishment of a strong SGBV prevention and response working group, the document has underscored the need for the involvement of men to address the problem.
One of the recommended strategies is the introduction of behavioral and attitude change programmes to do away with harmful cultural practices.
“Within the implementation framework, we have trained 40 GBV community champions because we know Nyeri is among the leading counties in GBV. We also have a technical working group composed of stakeholders from the national and county governments which meets on a quarterly basis to come up with strategies of eradicating GBV,” Ndung'u said.
The policy document is also pushing for realisation of the two-thirds gender rule in all sectors.
Although the county government has taken deliberate actions to fully implement the rule in its appointments, the executive is pushing for affirmative action programmes.
Nyeri county has three women CECs and seven men. Of the 13 chief officers, four are women.
Daata from the gender department shows low uptake of elective positions by women.
Apart from the County Woman Representative seat, no woman was elected in Parliament during the 2017 and 2022 general elections.
Only three women were elected as MCAs in the 2022 general election while 10 were nominated.
“Policy framework ensures equality and women empowerment in the social, economic, political and cultural spheres is considered. It should also be mentioned that the framework will strengthen affirmative actions geared towards reducing and eliminating gender inequalities as well as increasing representation in elective and appointive positions,” says the policy.