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Nairobi , June 02, 2009

First Lady Mrs Lucy Kibaki in a group Photo with Ministers from the Great Lakes Region at the Serena Beach Hotel, Mombasa, after she officialy opened the conference on women Afairs. On her right is Kenyas' Minister for Gender, Children and Social Development Hon. Esther Murugi.

First Lady Mrs. Lucy Kibaki has challenged women to aggressively seek for leadership positions to influence policy formulation and governance in their countries.

The First Lady made the remarks today during the official opening of the Forum of Ministers of Women Affairs Conference from the Great Lakes region at Serena Beach Hotel, Mombasa.

Mrs Kibaki told the forum that women must persistently and patiently push men to create room for adequate women representation at all levels of leadership.

"You must work for them. Positions will not come on a silver platter. Do not tire in seeking influential positions of governance. What a man can do a woman can do better," asserted the First Lady.

The First Lady told Kenyan women not to be merely contented with the Presidential directive that 30 per cent of all appointments in the public sector be reserved for them.

Mrs Kibaki also hinted that men should expect a surprise in the next general election because it will be a political turning point for country's political process.

During the occasion she cited lack of accurate information regarding gender issues as a critical impediment to formulation of effective policies to advance women welfare.

Mrs Kibaki hailed a proposal to create a Regional Research and Documentation Centre on Gender and Women Affairs which she termed as timely and worth allocating sufficient time to deliberate on.

The First Lady reaffirmed that for many years there has been insufficient human and institutional capacity to develop and address gender issues in a systematic manner.

Mrs Kibaki said, "The proposed Regional Centre and its associated centres in member countries will, therefore, play a critical role in bridging this gap and providing a platform for dialogue and exchange of experiences and best practices on gender issues."

"As you take stock of the progress made so far towards the establishment of the Centre, I urge you to remain focused on the concrete steps that will lead to its establishment within the envisaged period of three years," she said.

The First Lady reaffirmed that mainstreaming gender development not only reduces poverty levels but also stimulates higher rates of economic growth in nations.

Mrs Kibaki regretted that despite the appreciation of such facts women remain a highly marginalized group accounting for 70 per cent of an estimated 1.2 billion people living in abject poverty.

She said that women not only suffer marginalization but also continue to suffer gender-based violence adding that at least one woman in every three in the world has been a victim of gender-based violence.

The First Lady regretted that the effects of domestic violence are often severe and in many instances cause not only serious injuries but also death among numerous women worldwide.

Mrs Kibaki said, "I am glad to note that violence against women is one of the main agenda of this forum. As you deliberate on this subject, it is important to remember that one of the key causes of violence stems from women's economic dependency on men."

" Indeed, economic dependency and insecurity are at the core of the gender dynamics of violence. The economic empowerment of women is, therefore, key to the eradication of gender violence," she said.

She called for implementation of practical measures for women empowerment particularly ensuring that the girl child has access to education and remedying social-cultural norms that discriminate against women or hinder their advancement.

In Kenya, Mrs Kibaki said that the Government had adopted a 30 per cent affirmative action in all public sector appointments and gender officers had been appointed to ensure relevant institutions complied with the directive.

"In Kenya, I am glad to note that we have made considerable achievements in these areas. In education, for example, the provision of Free Primary Education has greatly improved access to education, especially by the girl child. Indeed, we have achieved gender parity, with girls constituting 49 per cent of the total primary school enrolment in the country," the First Lady observed.

She, however, noted that there was need to expand the role of women in the country's political process despite the current parliament having the highest number of women parliamentarians.

Mrs Kibaki said, "Indeed, like many other countries, we are far behind the Rwandan Parliament which is believed to have the highest representation of women in the world with over 50 per cent of women parliamentarians. I appeal to political organizations as well as corporate entities to increase the participation of women in decision-making at all levels. Most importantly, I challenge women to aggressively seek leadership positions."

The First Lady also observed that despite women forming the bulk of the agricultural labour force, they own only about one per cent of the world's land.

She said, "In addition, while women do two-thirds of the world's work, they receive only 10 per cent of the world's income."

The First Lady, however, expressed confidence that the establishment of a Women's Research and Documentation Centre in the region as well as dialoguing on strategies for combating violence against women would go along way in mitigating the current scenario.

"This is a crucial agenda that will go a long way into advancing the welfare of women. I wish you fruitful deliberations and look forward to the implementation of the recommendations that this Conference will make," Mrs Kibaki said.

The First Lady noted that in the sphere of leadership women representation was not any better with only 8 women being heads of Government out of 192 heads of government in the globe as at January 2008.

"Indeed, despite quotas being in place in over 40 countries, average women's representation in national parliaments remains barely over 15 per cent. These statistics indicate that although we have witnessed great advances in terms of commitments to the empowerment of women, these commitments are not matched by actions on the ground," observed the First Lady.

Mrs Kibaki said that the proposed Regional Centre and its associated centres in member countries will play a critical role in bridging existing gaps and providing a crucial forum for exchanging experiences and best practices on fast tracking gender issues.

The First Lady said, "As you take stock of the progress made so far towards the establishment of the Centre, I urge you to remain focused on the concrete steps that will lead to its establishment within the envisaged period of three years."

She thanked the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development and the United Nations Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) for hosting the Conference to discuss and formulate recommendations that would greatly contribute towards the creation of an equitable society.