On Tuesday 2 August 2022, Crawn Trust launched the charter of inclusion.
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 details the aspirations of the Kenyan people for an inclusive government. Article 10 (2)(a) that provides for National Values and Principles of Governance, Article 27 (1)) and (3) provides that empasises on equality and equal treatment of all in political, economic, cultural, and social spheres. Article 27(6) and (8) provide that the state must take legislative, policy and other measures, including affirmative action to redress the marginalisation of previously marginalised groups and in addition to those measures, ensure that there shall be not more than two thirds of any gender in elective and appointive public bodies. Further, Article 100 requires parliament to enact a law to promote the representation in parliament of women, persons with disabilities, youth, ethnic minorities and other minority and marginalized groups.
However, twelve years post promulgation, inclusion as envisioned in the constitution is yet to be implemented, perpetuating the continued the marginalisation of women, youth and persons with disability in leadership and governance in Kenya. It is against this backdrop that we developed the Charter of Inclusion which presents a renewed call and a standardised approach to advocate for the adherence to constitutionalism and specifically the right of representation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in leadership and governance in Kenya and to fostering the spirit of inclusion and participation. The Charter of Inclusion documents practical and effective approaches that target institutions of governance to establish legally binding obligations to enforce the provisions of inclusivity and equality as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and other legally binding laws. The Charter of Inclusion also places demands on a wide range of state and political actors to foster the principles of inclusion and the participation of marginalised groups.
The document calls out the state actors such as the IEBC too exercise its mandate ensuring inclusive and fair elections nomination, elections education materials that cater to all, regulating elections to ensure free, legitimate and accountable elections. Calls to non state actors such as the media to ensure equitable accessibility to information by women, youth and people living with disability, extensively use affirmative action to ensure the inclusivity of marginalized groups and use of inclusive language
In collaboration with the human rights commission, CRAWN Trust organised a spectacular event and invited the public from all the country together with key players in the government, civic society, diplomats and humanitarian organizations . This included IPOA, UN Women, Canada in Kenya, national council of people living with disabilities council and Africa youth trust just to name a few. The speakers affirmed the need for state and non state actors to implement and ensure inclusivity in governance as guided by the 2010 constitution of Kenya
In line with these, key representatives were required to commit to ensuring the framework is implemented. Through this, the civic society and its partners can follow up while also working with implementors to devise more feasible actions to realise the inclusion of women, youth and people living disability.
On the same day, CRAWN Trust launched the political economy analysis, a researched aimed at creating an understanding of how women are affected by and within political economy. Most of the poor people are employed in agriculture with the majority being women. The majority of the women in the rural areas spend a great deal of time on low productivity work which has created major income disparities between men and women. The reasons for gender disparities in employment opportunities include segregation in the labour market, social attitudes towards women, inadequate capacity on the part of women in terms of their knowledge and skills and lack of gender-responsive policies and programmes.
Besides having to balance out the gender and political roles amidst entrenched patriarchal attitudes and systems in society, women are rarely included in political participation because of their lack of capital and limited access to power. Our social structure which follows patriachal rule still heavily influences political landscape in Kenya. To ensure the emancipation of women in the political sphere, political institutions, Women Political Movements party leagues and the media each have a role to play.
At the end of the event, all in attendance agreed on the gaps identified in the document. The need to consider women in the elective process by putting into considerations issues such as stereotypes. Making civic education accessible to people living with disability. Continued consultation and collaboration with partners in different fields to ensure equality.
You can access the full documents here;