A Conversation with Prof. Eddah Gachukia

Abstract

I join women, nationally and internationally, in recognizing and indeed celebrating the role played by Professor Eddah Gachukia in putting the women's agenda on the road to development, nationally, regionally, and globally. She has been and continues to nurture and mentor many women and men into advocating for women and gender issues in policies and action. Walking in my memory lane, I remember being trained in gender by Professor Eddah Gachukia, thirty years ago in June 1992, at Green Hills Hotel in Nyeri. Her passion for the need to improve girls' access, retention, and performance in education was then unmatched. On that occasion, she narrated her childhood story with an emphasis on her early education, despite the death of her mother, when she was barely six years old. The passion for girls' education was later evident in her commentaries in the documentary, “The Lesser Child”, which was widely used by gender advocates as a powerful training and lobbying tool for educationists, policymakers, and parents nationally and regionally to support girls' education. I also remember her as an educationist during the development of the “The ABC of Gender Analysis” a tool that was widely used by gender advocates to challenge and eliminate gender biases in textbooks across Africa and, supported and facilitated by FAWE, where she was the founding Executive Director.

Prof. Eddah Gachukia is a seasoned, passionate, and powerful advocate for women's rights. As she championed women's issues, by what she humbly calls God's favour, she was all the times strategically placed, having the opportunity to have worn many “hats”- director, leader, educationist and legislator, to mention only a few.

It is amazing how Professor has been at the forefront as a founder member of many professional and civil society organizations that spearhead the advancement of women, the earliest one being Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization, where she served as the vicepresident from 1967 to 1974, National Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK); The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET); Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE); and the Collaborative Centre for Gender and Development (CCGD), where she continues to serve as a board member and a trustee.

During the interview with Prof. Eddah Gachukia, she lamented that the “battle for women's liberation” is yet to be won. However, she is evidently among other pathfinders in the likes of Field Marshal Muthoni, Prof. Wanjiku Kabira, Prof. Julia Ojiambo, and Phoebe Asiyo to mention only a few, who were also resilient enough to have fought against deep-rooted myths against women within the male-dominated socio-economic and political environments. The documented conversation with Prof. Eddah Gachukia presented in this publication serves as a recognition of a heroin and a pace-setter for the gains in women's empowerment. Admirably, also add that the Professor's involvement in public leadership did not in any way compromise her role in raising her children, even with a busy husband who was chief of protocol in the late President Jomo Kenyatta's government. It is in order to congratulate Professor, a selfless role model and a mentor to many. God bless you Professor Eddah Gachukia.

Prof Elishiba Kimani, Ph.D., Gender Education and Development Studies, Kenyatta University