Like in most African societies, among the refugee community in Nairobi, there is gender inequality in all spheres of life, particularly within the home, school and community. Patriarchal structures are deeply rooted. Change in attitudes, beliefs and practices are not guaranteed unless the girl child is empowered to stand up and demand her rights, respect and space. This program champions the rights of the girl child. The focus is on the low status enjoyed by women in general, and girls in particular, within society. As efforts to improve the status of adult women have proven futile, young women are the focus of attention. The strategy aims to create a clear path to becoming a leader instead of a victim. In addition, it also seeks to engage policy makers to develop a legal framework for protecting survivors of domestic violence. The strategy is presented as a successful model for affecting lasting positive changes on gender inequality issues including domestic violence.
Safe Womanhood has always worked to respond directly to the plight of the girl child. The mandate of the program is to ensure their empowerment. However, the situation of the girl child is largely not of her own making. To address this fundamental fact, the program has made sure that those persons and institutions with a say in her future well being work to achieve the empowerment of the girl child. The program conducts capacity building for the refugee community to enable them to create and sustain strategies and structures that will be conduits for future programming and development.
