Athletics Kenya (AK) Youth Development Committee chairman, Barnaba Korir, has called for the protection of women athletes in the country against sexual harassment and gender violence.
Korir said this during Purity Chepkirui’s homecoming at Tiloa Athletics Camp at the Tiloa Primary School grounds. The event was organized by the community in Tiloa who have never had a chance to celebrate their athletes.
Chepkirui is the World U-20 bronze medalist as well as the 2022 African 1500m silver medalist. She was also a pacesetter at the Xiamen Diamond League in China and Brussels a week ago. She was also part of the World Championships team in Budapest despite not medaling.
Korir acknowledged Kenyan female athletes who performed exceedingly well in the just concluded World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“With each passing day, girls continue to prove themselves in the field of athletics. In the just concluded World Championships in Budapest, Kenyan girls performed better than their male counterparts,”
In Budapest, triple world record holder, Faith Kipyegon won two gold medals in women’s 1,500m and 5,000 while Mary Moraa won the women’s 800m gold that landed them a chance to be hosted by President William Rutto and a significant reward from the Ministry of Sports.
Beatrice Chepkoech won silver in the 3,000m steeplechase with Faith Cherotich bagging bronze also in the same event. Beatrice Chebet also won bronze in the 5,000m. “Out of the 10 medals, the country won, women alone had six."
Korir said issues of gender violence were also on the rise in the recent past and calls for concern from all quarters.
"Some of our athletes have been victims of not only sexual harassment but also gender violence. You all remember how Agnes Tirop and Damari Muthee lost their lives,” Korir said.
Agnes Tirop was found dead at her home in Iten on October 13, 2021, with multiple stab wounds in her neck and abdomen.
The 25-year-old won bronze in the 10,000m at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships. At the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, Tirop became the second-youngest-ever gold medalist in the women's race after Zola Budd.
Korir requested parents to team up with Athletics Kenya to protect the girls from sexual harassment and gender violence.
“We must team up and protect these girls from the many threats that hover around their heads. I am sure you know your girls better and you can tell when all is not well and protect them better,” he said.
“These girls sometimes suffer in silence and women stakeholders in athletics must get close to them and protect their interests, where necessary,” he added.
Korir also pointed out that there had been cases of coaches molesting female athletes. To this extent, he said AK is working on having matrons in every approved camp.
“We have even had cases of coaches molesting girls in various camps and we are already working on modalities to ensure we have a matron or a chaperon in every camp. As AK, we will not allow camps housing girls to be run by men. I insist that every camp must have a chaperon preferably a lady teacher,” he said.
He further warned all athletes against doping, which has pushed the country into Category ‘A’. He warned that AIU (Athletics Integrity Unit) would be swift to deal with those who violate the anti-doping rules.
