The Government of Kenya through the National Trea- sury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Hon. (Amb.) Ukur Yatani, the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service and Gender Prof. Margret Kobia, and the UNFPA Repre- sentative Dr. Ademola Olajide officially launched the State of the World Population 2020 report with a call to end harmful practices against women and girls. This took place in Nairobi on the 11th of July, 2020 on the side-lines of the WPD 2020 Celebrations. A domesti- cated version of the global report was also launched.
According to the report, every day, hundreds of thou- sands of girls around the world are harmed physically or psychologically, or both, with the full knowledge and consent of their families, friends and communities. The impact ripples throughout society, buttressing gender stereotypes and inequalities. The harmful practices have been almost universally denounced as human rights violations yet remain stubbornly widespread: FGM, child marriage and son preference.
The report further states that 4 million girls will this year will undergo FGM globally. Further, some 33,000 child marriages occur every day globally and due to the glob- al preference for sons over daughters, more than 140 million girls are considered missing today due to infan- ticide, kidnapping, trafficking, or other forms of violence against female infants and young girls. These practices the UNFPA reports states are all rooted in gender in- equality and a desire to control women’s bodies and lives.
UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, summed up the report in three words respect, protect and fulfill. These rally us to foster respect for women and girls by changing entrenched attitudes and practices that dehu- manize and commoditize them, furthermore, we must
protect women and girls by enacting and enforcing laws against practices like child marriage and FGM and consequently, Governments must fulfil their obligations under human rights treaties that require elimination of FGM and child marriage. These three words respect, protect and fulfil can bring real change and real results for women and girls globally and in Kenya.
During the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, Kenya made commitments towards accelerating the promise on zero harmful practices and committed to eliminating, by 2030, all forms of Gender Based Violence (GBV), including child and forced marriages, by addressing social and cultural norms that propagate the practice while providing support to women and girls who have been affected.
Harmful practices such as FGM and child marriage are deterrents to achieving gender equality. Harmful practices prevent Kenya from achieving a demographic dividend and the noble goals set in the Kenya Vision 2030, Big 4 Agenda, Population Policy for National Development, and the ICPD25 Kenya coun- try commitments among others. It is there- fore important and urgent that harmful prac- tices be laid bare and addressed with a view of ending them.
UNFPA Kenya will continue to support com- munities by facilitating conversations that help communities, parents and partners un- derstand the physical and psychological toll of these practices and the benefits that ac- crue to all when these practices are aban- doned.
