Maasai women dancing at an event on Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya, to celebrate International Women’s Day. Photo: Dai Kurokawa
By JONH MUGO and IZEL KIPRUTO
Today we celebrate the International Women’s Day the theme being “women in the changing world of work”.
This is the day specifically set aside to reflect on and celebrate the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women.
Granted, women have struggled for their space in the last decade, competing with men in business, social and political arena, every when the playing field is evened.
In Rwanda, for instance, women occupy more than 64 percent of parliamentary seats and this is a testament to the country’s efforts towards providing opportunities for all.
In Kenya, women have exhibited admirable business acumen and occupy influential leadership positions, but we still have a long way to go.
Congratulations to all women out there, who are doing their best to change the society and inspire our girls. We are glad to celebrate you today.
Unfortunately, as we celebrate the International Women’ Day, around two-thirds of women globally are illiterate.
In Kenya, nearly 50 percent of women will neither know that this article was published nor read the congratulatory messages.
They will not read the WhatsApp forwards and the endless Facebook and Twitter posts. Many will even receive random messages on their phone, but will not even know that the SMS arrived.
Others will even use this piece of paper for something else – may be to wipe or to hold hot objects – but will not sense that we wrote to congratulate them. All because they cannot read.
Facts don’t lie. Statistics from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey of 2014 show that 12 percent of Kenyan women aged 15-49 years are illiterate. In 2014, the Uwezo learning assessment tested if mothers of school-going children could read.
Sadly, 45 percent of women could not read.
This is just the national average and regional disparities are glaring. In the north eastern region and among pastoralist communities, the situation is much worse with 72 percent of mothers with no primary education and 95 percent unable to read a Class two level text.
Illiterate Kenyan women face untold challenges, including diminishing employment opportunities, powerlessness and abuse.
They are unable to participate in helping their children to learn, or access important health information. Yet, 54 years ago at Kenya’s independence, the founding father of our nation, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s government vowed to eliminate illiteracy among other ills facing the society.
This day provides a moment to reflect on concrete actions that will ensure all girls and women are literate, during our time. That 45 percent of our mothers cannot read, creates a barrier for education and economic progress, and negatively impacts on our chances to achieve Vision 2030.
Undoubtedly, literacy in women guarantees high rates of social and economic returns. Literate women are a pillar for political and social progress, and valuable asset for the learning of our children.
To ensure that every Kenyan woman can read, each of us must play part. The adult literacy department will lead us forward, by resurrecting adult literacy classes, specially, starting from where this is most needed.
From Uwezo’s 2015 evidence, adult classes exist only in 15 percent of the Kenyan villages. Our youth must rise up to this challenge too. They are jobless yes, but their time and their idleness can turn into treasure and create lasting impact.
If every jobless young person were to teach one illiterate woman to read, all women would read on their phone and know who’s calling them by December of this year.
Let us celebrate this day, and from where we are, make a difference for our women. Then, we will enjoy a better-earned International Women Day in 2018.
John Mugo and Izel Kipruto are researchers at Twaweza East Africa.