Women empowerment: Mama Ida steps up efforts to transform lives

To some, she is the wife of Prime Minister Raila Odinga but for most women, she is the silver lining in the quest for women empowerment and the face of the fight to end Gender Based Violence.

She has seen it all and has defied all odds to champion for women leadership while at the same ensuring that women are at the decision making table in politics.

As early as 1980’s, Mama Ida had already rolled up her sleeves and was fighting for the inclusion of women by introducing a women’s voting league as part of the activism against the country’s one-party system.

Now, as the quest to continue empowering more women continues, Mama Ida has only reenergized herself and shifted her attention to ending GBV as well as inspiring other women leaders.

She has remained steadfast in the fight for female empowerment since the days she encountered first-hand the woes women go through. Back in 1982, she was sacked by the Teachers Service Commission from her position as a teacher at Kenya High School following the failed coup.

But that was not alone, her husband was imprisoned and her family subjected to harassments but that did not stop her from her devotion to champion for democracy and female empowerment.

She is among several women who have dedicated their lives to empower other women while also struggling to remove some of the bottle necks that have blocked women from progressing.

A champion for women’s rights for more than two decades, since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Mama Ida has been at the forefront in the quest to end GBV.

Since Covid-19 pandemic struck, Mama Ida has been at the forefront in rescuing girls and young mothers and inspiring them to go back to school through Mama Ida Trust.

In the last couple of months, through her foot soldiers which include a number of women activists, the group has been traversing Nyanza with an aim of encouraging young girls on the need to continue with their education.

The initiative also targets teenage mothers who have dropped out of school but are keen to continue with their education at a time when teenage pregnancy has been soaring in the country

As part of the efforts to transform lives, she is also pushing for an initiative that is seeing former alumni’s of different schools to improve the facilities for future generations.

Last week, Mama Ida said that it is important to give young girls a chance to prosper in life and urged Kenyans to also give back to the institutions where they learnt at.

She was speaking at the Great Lakes University where she unveiled several women she claimed defied all odds to scale up the leadership ladder.

The list included some of the women she went to school with most of them currently holding senior leadership positions in civil service and in private practice.

“We have to be the shining light for future generations so that they can have something to look up to,” said Mama Ida.

Through her efforts, the fight to reduce the worrying statistics of teenage pregnancies which has been on the rise at the height of the pandemic got an impetus.

In the effort too, several women stands to be counted for their relentless efforts to drive the course.

At a time when the number of teenage pregnancies has been high and GBV cases also rising, women leaders have been at the forefront in fighting the vices.

Their participation in leadership positions has been instrumental in shaping up the narrative that women too can overcome challenges and rise up the ranks in leadership positions.

They have overcome several challenges in their bid to transform their lives and rose up in leadership positions

According to Migori Woman Representative Pamela Odhiambo, most women are doing a splendid job in the advancement of the rights of women.

She said that women have done well in most sectors and have managed to increase their representation but in politics, she said that women are still lagging behind.

Odhiambo noted that although the quest to achieve the two thirds gender rules is still lagging behind in the political scene, in other sectors, more women are taking up leadership positions.

In the public sector, she said the civil servants in the government have tried in the implementation by appointing them positions have tried in appointing women led by the Chief Justice Martha Koome.

"As much as there have been an improvement in women appointments, there are still imbalances that needs to be corrected," said Odhiambo.

The Migori women representative said that out of the about 75 registered political parties, only 6 are headed by women or owned by them which brings it to 8% which is a smaller number.

"We have made a good improvement in terms of leadership in various sectors but we still have room to improve our numbers,"she said.

She advised young women and girls to come out to take a bold step and grab the positions and lead.

Speaking to People Daily, Odhiambo encouraged women leaders to develop a thick skin against online bullies.

She is optimistic that more women will be elected in the 2022 general elections.

"Even though I think up to now I have missed a woman expressing an interest in presidency but personally I will be vying for governorship, “she said.

Since she was elected, she said she has been a transformative leader working slowly with her people trying to transform the community to show them the way.

"I have also been able to build for orphans and widows homes and provide for their needs, provide for girls with sanitary towels and also give them bursaries and scholarship for the less fortunate children,"she said.

Odhiambo calls on established women leaders to support educational and mentorship opportunities to build the confidence of less experienced and aspiring women to participate in elective political positions.

For Easter Achieng, a human rights activist and an executive director at the Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO), women participation in leadership is crucial for the development of a country.

She revealed to us that she has actively fought and contributed as part of gender sector working group in Kisumu that made them to get the gender mainstreaming policy in Kisumu.

A number of women are also making history in the judicial system claim are also using their positions to inspire others.

In Kisumu, the Law Society of Kenya Kisumu chapter is now headed by a female lawyer who hopes to use her position to inspire other young lawyers.

According to Joan Otieno, the chairperson of the Law Society of Kenya chairperson Kisumu chapter, a lot of gains have been made in terms of the status of women participation compared to the past where only a few women were in leadership positions.

"There are gains but we still need more but it is still not a representative of what is expected in the society," said Otieno.

She lauded the two third gender rule stating that that was the reason why there was an upward projectory in terms of the number of women going into politics and taking up leadership positions and doing away with early marriages.

One of the challenges she mentioned that is hindering the women to rise in the community is the patriarchal society that made them to believe that they should not speak where men are.

Some of the success she has contributed to the society she mentioned was mentoring a team of girls in Manyatta slums.

"Bringing female advocates together and mentoring them has been my biggest achievement of the year,"she said.

Vihiga Woman Representative, Beatrice Adagala, echoes the disparity in women representation across the country.

She stated that currently, out of the 349 seats in parliament, only 76 members are females which represents only 1/5 of the total.

"It is only through such positions that they will be able to influence policies that can empower them more.”