Day 5 (The Presentation)

Today was a productive day. For several days we have been preparing to meet with various female leaders to discuss the implications of the new bill of rights that are incorporated in the newly enacted Kenyan constitution. We developed a powerpoint presentation, which we intended to use to provide a visual to the audience.  When we arrived at the center, however, the cords needed to connect our laptop to the projector were not present, so we adjusted.  The center had butcher –block paper, which we taped to the blackboard that was in the room, and we transcribed our presentation onto them. Fifty women leaders attended our presentation.

We started the presentation by giving an overview of the bill of rights that are incorporated in the Kenyan constitution. Health Care, Education, Privacy, Freedom from Abuse and Affirmative Action are all incorporated within the constitution. We touched on the importance of the ideals promulgated in the constitution, however, we cautioned that it would take the people asserting their rights in order for the ideals to become a reality. Most of the women who attended spoke Swahili , so we had an interpretor on hand to convey our message.   

Pedro was the first to speak. He covered each of the aforementioned rights generally. Chris was the second to speak. He discussed the process by which the people would assert their rights. He emphasized the importance of accessing the courts; arguing that this is the only way to make constitutional rights real. He talked about the women’s newfound responsibility to ensure that their rights are respected and observed. Alex presented third. He started by reading a poem by Sojourner Truth. He focused on the women’s strength and necessity in society and how their empowerment must start from within. He juxtaposed the women’s position with that of blacks during civil rights. He argued that the only way that the women would ensure that their constitutional rights were to fight for them. He talked about the constitutional rights of blacks in the sixties; how the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th amendment guaranteed rights, but that those rights were not respected in certain parts of the country until blacks demanded them. Nate was the last member of our group to speak. He focused his presentation on the property rights of women. He discussed the importance of owning and passing on property; asserting that economic empowerment could be achieved through the accumulation of property rights.

After Nate, our host, Jacob presented on micro-finance. He discussed the benefits and drawbacks of the program. Alex also presented on the topic. He emphasized the importance of the women pooling their money together to pursue their ideas. An attorney from the Federation of Women Lawyers also spoke. She took questions about matters of law in Kenya and discussed the importance of women taking hold of their constitutional rights.

Chris concluded the discussion. He talked about the need for hope in order to create beneficial change.