Kenyan Women Press For Legal Rights

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31498, 12 October 1967, Page 2

Kenyan Women Press For Legal Rights

Kenya, regarded as one of the most progressive of the independent African nations, still has a. long way to go in giving women their rights as citizens. But the women themselves are moving into action to improve their lot, through the National Council of Women of Kenya.

The council’s seminar on “Woman in a Changing Society,” held earlier this year, passed an impressive , list of resolutions asking the Government to pass laws to give women more security and full legal rights.

A summary of tha council’s conclusions has been sent to Mrs Doreen Grant, of Christchurch, the International convener of the press and public relations standing committee of the International Council of Women. The resolutions deal with provisions for widows, property rights, family planning, Parliamentary and local body representation, and improved training in handicrafts. High oh the list of priorities is a request to the Government for compulsory registration of first marriages. The council wants the law to ensure that a man’s first wife will get his assets after his death. In some African countries a rejected wife has no rights or security. The council also wants legislation to give the children of the first registered marriage security—in trusts to be set up by the administrators of their father’s estate if their mother remarries. A wife’s rights in Kenya are not clear. She is likely to become destitute if her husband leaves her or dies. But the Attorney-General will hold soon a Commission of Inquiry on Marriage, Divorce and Inheritance and the National Council of Women has asked every organised women’s group to co-operate fully in giving information. Because women and girls throughout East Africa do not always understand the legal rights they are entitled to, the council has recommended that full information be given at schools in joint classes for boys and girls, “so that mutual respect and understanding can be carried into post-school life.”

Going further Into the need for making this information available, the council wants instruction and informal discussion to be started immediately in mixed groups at teachers colleges and universities. They want the legal rights of women publicised in women’s magazines, in the press, on radio and television to get the message across. "Family Planning Tha Government of Kenya has already given its support to family planning and the National Council of Women is pressing for more reliable information and clinical advice to be made available. It wants simple, vernacular literature on family planning widely circulated; more trained field workers; more medical workers, and more publicity for family planning work. The council has asked the Government to fix three months paid maternity leave for all pregnant women who

have, been in their jobs for at least 12 months. The council wants more women in ■ Parliament and local administration, and on policy-making boards and commissions. But it deplores any suggestion that women should be given Parliamentary seats as a right “Women in Kenya must work to get women elected to Parliament as the respected representatives of their constituencies,” a resolution said. In the meantime, they want members of Parliament to consult the National Council of Women of Kenya before speaking on women’s interests.

Because women ■ in East Africa depend for income on the sale of their handicrafts, the standards of their work must be improved. The council wants the International Labour Organisation to set up a handicraft training centre for tile women of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.