Nairobi Women Representative Esther Passaris making her submission before the National Assembly Committee on Social Protection at Parliament Building on May 15, 2025.PHOTO/ENOS TECHEWoman representatives have lamented budget cuts, saying they will principally be unable to offer critical interventions like sanitary towels for schoolgirls.
The National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), which women reps rely on to provide this essential support, has been slashed by Sh104 million, from an initial allocation of Sh1.044 billion to just Sh940 million.
This reduction threatens a programme credited with keeping vulnerable girls in school, particularly those from poor backgrounds who depend on free sanitary products.
Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris took issue with the cuts, questioning why NGAAF consistently faces reductions.
"The seat for Woman Representatives is an affirmative seat that deals with the most vulnerable in the country and this back-and-forth in budget cap is hurting us in achieving their constitutional mandate," she told MPs.
National Assembly Committee on Gender and Social Protection Chair Alice Ng'ang'a at the Parliament Building in Nairobi on May 15, 2025./PHOTO/ENOS TECHEPassaris called for constitutional amendments to secure NGAAF's future.
The woman MPs want affirmative action funds streamlined in one basket, unlike now that the roles are anchored in different ministries, among them finance, education, gender, and now social protection.
"We want it created in a way that it will ensure that Woman Representatives coordinate the provision of sanitary towels and ensure women receive free, sufficient, and quality products," she said, arguing for a structure similar to NG-CDF.
"I feel that we need to structure NGAAF in the same manner that NG-CDF is structured. Women leaders are struggling to justify why their money should not be cut when the money should be increased,” the MP said.
She went on, "It's very embarrassing that I can provide condoms but can't provide sanitary towels to thousands of vulnerable girls in 17 constituencies within Nairobi County."
The funding crisis has left women reps struggling to meet expectations.
Tana River's Amina Abdullahi Dika revealed the severity of the situation: "It is painful to note that for this financial year ending June, we've not received even a single coin for sanitary towels, yet everyone out here knows that women representatives are the one who are supposed to be giving sanitary towels."
Thika Town MP Alice Ng'ang'a, who chairs the relevant committee, expressed frustration at the budget process.
"As the chair of this committee, you make me look very bad on the floor of the house when women raise issues regarding sanitary towels and budget capitation when I was supposed to be the one defending them at the budget level," she told ministry officials.
"When it comes to matters to do with sanitary towels, agree with them before you take any action this time."
The cuts extend beyond sanitary towels, affecting anti-FGM programmes (reduced from Sh216.92 million to Sh186 million) and gender-based violence prevention efforts.
Women leaders warn these reductions threaten to reverse progress on gender equality, leaving vulnerable populations at risk as Kenya grapples with the consequences of fiscal constraints on essential social programs.
The cuts were revealed in budget papers presented to Parliament by Social Protection Principal Secretary Anne Wang'ombe, citing the decision by Cabinet for ministries, departments, and agencies to operate with leaner budgets.
"The estimates tabled before this committee differ significantly with the state department allocation as per the 2025 BPS Ceiling, affecting the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF), Women Enterprise Fund (WEF) and Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board (AFGM),” the PS said in her submissions to MPs.
Programmess combating female genital mutilation (FGM) have seen their allocation drop from Sh216.92 million to Sh186 million, with the shortfall absorbed by mandatory expenses like salaries and rent.
This has hampered anti-FGM campaigns in high-prevalence areas including Mt. Kenya, Narok, Kajiado, Samburu and Migori counties. Similarly, gender-based violence prevention efforts have suffered, with advocates linking funding cuts to rising case numbers.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The lawmakers warn that without urgent intervention, the cuts will reverse years of progress in girls’ education and women’s empowerment, leaving thousands at risk of dropping out of school or falling victim to harmful cultural practices.
With the government facing budget strains, will it prioritise the needs of its most vulnerable citizens, or will budgetary constraints continue to undermine critical social protections?
