http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/155966 2026-04-08T19:34:15Z http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/163801 Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima's tribute to the late Prof. Micere Mugo AWSC, Women's Economic Empowerment Hub A heartfelt tribute by Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima to Prof. Micere Githae Mugo. Prof. Mugo, a Kenyan luminary, was a professor, playwright, author, activist, and poet. She was renowned for her scholarship, serving as a literary critic and professor of Literature, Creative Writing, and Research Methods in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University, New York. In 1982, during the reign of Daniel Arap Moi in Kenya, Prof. Mugo was forced into exile due to her unwavering commitment to social and political justice. Her journey led her to teach in the United States and later in Zimbabwe, where her influence continued to shape generations of scholars. Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima who was a high-ranking female fighter in the 1950’s Mau Mau rebellion, recorded this tribute soon after Prof Micere Mugo’s passing in June 2023. It serves as a powerful testament to Prof Mugo’s enduring legacy and the deep respect she garnered from her peers. It is with profound sadness that we note that Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima passed on soon after this recording. She died in September 2023, marking the end of an era for two remarkable women who left an indelible mark on Kenya's history. Join us in honoring the remarkable lives of both Prof. Micere Mugo and Field Marshal Muthoni wa Kirima, women who not only made history but rewrote the narrative of courage, resilience, in Kenya and beyond. Recording: Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima's tribute to the late Prof. Micere Mugo 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/162006 Women’s Participation in Constitution-Making Process in Kenya (S.3, Part 16) AWSC, Women's Economic Empowerment Hub; Kimani, Lydia Wanjiru This 34minutes 11seconds–long video was recorded in June 2017. Lydia Kimani was born and educated in Embu. Her father was a District Officer and later a Provincial Commissioner while her mother was a member of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO). After completing her secondary studies, she went to pursue her university studies at Michigan State University, USA. When she returned to Kenya, Mrs Jane Kiano asked her to contest for the position of Chairperson of MYWO and she was elected. She was elected and served in that capacity for 17 years. In 1992, she got interested in politics and vied for the Manyatta Parliamentary seat. The election was marred with irregularities coming third in the race. She went to court but she lost the case. She continued working for women in Embu where she continued to empower women by teaching them civic education. She pushed for women in the DDC where she was a member. When opportunities arose such as the appointment of chiefs, she would ask women to apply and some were appointed. In addition to chiefs, Lydia helped women get into other leadership positions such as on local boards. Lydia also initiated a number of projects in an effort to promote women’s economic empowerment. These projects included the Embu Women’s SACCO but later collapsed due to lack of leadership, founded a women’s group that later bought a piece of land, a heifer project which helped in increasing the production of milk in Embu, and a credit scheme that enabled women to get into small businesses and get money to provide for their families including educating their children. Lydia was also active politically. She is a member of KANU and she was among those who pushed for the officials and delegates to be elected from the grassroots. When ODM was formed, she saw in it a party that stood for representation and issues. She was elected ODM deputy secretary general but on realization that she was not achieving anything as a representative of the Central region, she resigned. During her days’, women’s leadership was not easy, but she encouraged women to persist so as to bring about change. Lydia notes that there are many gains in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, however, for women to realize these gains, there is a need for proper coordination and collaboration among the women’s organizations. Short Video Documentary 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/162005 Women’s Participation in Constitution-Making Process in Kenya (S.3, Part 15) AWSC, Women's Economic Empowerment Hub; Owour, Effie This 1hour 36minutes 48seconds–long video was recorded in June 2017. Lady Justice Effie Owour was born in a family where her father was an educationist and the mother was a midwife at King George, now Kenyatta National Hospital. After completing her primary school, she joined Butere High School during the colonial era. Afterwards, she joined Alliance Girls for A-Level studies. The local universities at the time were confined to careers linked to gender roles among them nursing, teaching and secretarial work. Effie realized that she was not cut for these careers as she wanted to be a lawyer. Women who wanted to venture into other careers had to pursue their studies out of the country. Her father encouraged her to pursue her dream and through his intervention, she joined Dar es Salaam University, in 1964, to study law. After completing these studies, she returned to Kenya. She got a job at the AGs office in Mombasa as a registrar of marriages, birth registrations etc. It is then that she realized there was an issue as a woman would marry one man this month and come back after a month marrying another man. This aroused her curiosity to know what was happening. Later she joined the AGs prosecution and she started climbing the ranks and being a trailblazer in the Judicially till she was a judge in 1985. She was the first female judge and there were many gender issues to deal with including the title of her position, dress code, and lack of facilities such as a ladies' washroom. Eventually, they were sorted out. In 1998, she was appointed the first female judge in the Court of Appeal. Gender roles were also a challenge as she had to travel away from home while she still had to take care of her children. At a time when women were not supposed to divorce, she realized she was not getting along well with her husband. She decided to divorce him. She remarried but unfortunately, her second husband passed away. The Luo in-laws were determined to get her a relative to remarry her someone to support her as a young widow. This was a time when she was heading the women’s task force, which aimed to come up with recommendations for laws and regulations that needed to be reviewed so as to ensure women enjoyed their rights in Kenya. The task force was going around the country collecting views from women on legal issues. The then also intervened and said he didn’t want to hear of that custom of remarrying widows as it would be an international embarrassment. She refused to be immediately inherited and gave a condition the ceremony be after morning her husband for one year. After one year the in-laws came to culminate the inheritance ritual. She agreed but gave them a condition she knew it was impossible to meet; “you bring me a male bachelor who is 64 years old”. She knew this was an unachievable condition. The in-laws never returned. She continued as Judge of Appeal and chair of the Women’s Task Force. The membership of the Taskforce was predominantly comprised of women drawn from all walks of life, and academicians. Civil Society Organizations, Government Bureau, Economists, and Researchers among others. The team went around the country collecting views from the women. The task force made major recommendations including the marriage bill, succession act, matrimonial property, property ownership for married women and maintenance of the wife and children upon divorce or separation, among others. Realising the challenges facing women within the marriage institution, Effie and other women, pushed the setup of the Family Division to handle family matters including succession and divorce among others. Through a broad consultative process, they also came up with the children’s law to protect the rights of children. Some of these issues were later incorporated into the constitution. Lady Justice Effie Owour is concerned that Kenya has many laws on paper, including the two-thirds gender rule, and the timelines for implementation are not respected by the government. While there are many qualified women in the legal profession, they still lag behind in politics and governance. When it comes to politics, Justice Owour, notes that women should stop being too nice but push as their male counterparts do. She notes that women should get involved in community affairs so that they bring in their issues. She also notes that women’s contributions should be quantified. When it comes to sharing matrimonial property, 50:50 is unfair because women will be left with the children with whom they have to share. Therefore, to ensure fairness, this needs to be reviewed. In addition, issues to do with cultural traditions, including the role of elders in executing justice, should be reviewed to ensure they do not perpetuate discrimination against women. However, for Kenyan women to realize their gains, they must make a deliberate effort and come out of their comfort zone, refuse to become partisan with the ruling regime and political parties and work together, as they did in the past. Short Video Documentary 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/162001 Women’s Participation in Constitution-Making Process in Kenya (S.3, Part 14) AWSC, Women's Economic Empowerment Hub; Muigai, Salome This 47minutes 56seconds – long video was recorded in June 2017. Salome started observing discrimination against girls and women from an early age. As a girl with a disability, she was never conscious of social gender norms. Her first encounter with gender-based discrimination came after she completed her studies and went to work at Kabete Approved Secondary School. Nobody believed women and more so a disabled girl could run the highest institution. She even became the manager of the institution which to many was not normal. With her experience in dealing with the children and their mothers who mostly came to see their children, she realized the problem was much broader than the children themselves. She returned to school and pursued her master's in gender and development and policy. She was also involved in the preparation of the Nairobi Conference in the education committee. During this period, she realized the problem was much broader. She also realized the power of women and the need for women’s empowerment to ensure a win-win situation for all. As a gender specialist, she was actively involved in the struggle for women’s empowerment. Aware that issues left out in the policy will not be implemented she and other women, including Prof Wanjiku Kabira, and Hon Phoebe Asiyo among others, seized the opportunity for the constitution-making process to ensure women’s issues found their way into the Constitution of Kenya. During the Constitution-making process, she was instrumental as a technical adviser for women and for persons with disability. She was also involved in the founding of the Women’s Political Caucus – Kenya. She was with the women in the Ufungamano Constitution-making Initiative and she was among the five women who were nominated Commissioners to the Constitutional Review Commission. Salome was also involved in gender mainstreaming in the political parties. Salome notes though some progress has been made in gender mainstreaming the young women though educated, passionate and interested are not equipped with relevant skills to continue with the struggle. The young women and all those in leadership should be trained in gender analysis skills, competence and how to come up with a way forward, knowledge and attitude and how to change the prevailing environment. Women should also have a strong movement comprised of the different generations older women, middle and young women, so as to build on the experiences of previous generations so as to build on lessons learnt so that they don’t go back to reinventing the wheel. Women should also hold people and institutions accountable for what they commit to doing for women. Short Video Documentary 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z