World
COVID-19 Exposed Burden Women Bear as Caregivers—Mercy Jelimo
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
For over two decades, the Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW) has been fighting for gender equality, empowerment of women and improvement of women’s rights in Kenya and broadly in East Africa.
Established in 1999, CREAW has used bold, innovative and holistic interventions for the realization of women’s rights. Most of its programs have focused on challenging practices that undermine equity, equality and constitutionalism, promoting women’s participation in decision making and deepening the ideology and philosophy of women’s empowerment.
In this interview, Mercy Jelimo, an Executive Program Officer at the Nairobi-based CREAW discusses the current situation about gender issues, landmarked achievements, existing challenges and the way forward. Here are the interview excerpts:
In your estimation and from your research, how is the situation with gender inequality, specifically in Kenya, and generally in East Africa?
This survey was commissioned by our partners Women Deliver and Focus 2030 with over 17,000 respondents covering 17 countries on six continents. The survey findings indicated that over 60% of respondents believed that gender equality had progressed. However, on average, 57% of respondents also felt that the fight for gender equality is not over particularly because we see key aspects of gender inequality persist including unequal distribution of unpaid care, domestic work and parental responsibilities between men and women (the COVID-19 pandemic has spotlighted the burden women bear as caregivers) different employment opportunities with religion and culture continuing to entrench discrimination against women.
Whereas in East Africa, the survey only covered Kenya, the results are shared across. In particular, the Kenyan respondents indicated that there has been notable progress in regards to gender equality particularly when it comes to the legal and policy frameworks to guard against discrimination on whichever basis be it sex, religion, class or race.
Over the last quarter-century, the country has promulgated a new Constitution and a raft of subsidiary legislations and policies that are critical to gender equality. Some of these laws include but not limited to: the Sexual Offences Act 2006, the Children’s Act 2001, the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act 2011, the Marriage Act 2014, the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act 2015, the Victim Protection Act 2014, the Witness Protection Act 2008, the National Policy for Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence 2014, the National Guidelines on the Management of Sexual Violence 2015, the Multi-sector Standard Operating Procedures for Prevention and Response to Gender-Based Violence, and the National Policy on the Eradication of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) 2019.
Kenya has also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, among other instruments.
However, even with this robust legal framework, accountability and the implementation of these laws have lagged behind.
The status of women and girls as compared to men and boys still remains unequal at all levels of society both public and private. This imbalance manifests itself as normalized negative social norms and ‘cultural’ practices with brutal violations against women and girls continuing to be perpetrated, women being excluded from leadership and decision making positions, limited in their political participation and women and girls being denied access to economic opportunities.
Undeniably, women and girls continue to be victims of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) including rape, domestic violence, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child marriage.
In fact, as of March 2020, according to statistics from Kenya’s Gender Violence Recovery Centre (GVRC), 45% of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced either physical or sexual violence with women with girls accounting for 90% of gender-based violence (SGBV) cases reported.
Harmful practices such as FGM and child marriage are still prevalent, with the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (2014) reporting a national FGM prevalence rate of 21% for women and girls aged 15-49 years of age. The prevalence rate differs from one practising community to the other, with communities such as Somali (96%) Samburu (86%) and The Maasai (78%) having significantly higher prevalence.
Sadly, this is the story across all the other countries in East Africa where we have progressive legal and Policy framework but with zero accountability mechanisms.
It is worth noting that in 2018, the East Africa Community Council of Ministers approved the EAC Gender policy which is key to ensuring that gender equality and empowerment of women are not only integrated into every aspect of its work but provides an outline of key priority areas for partner states.
The EAC has also instituted other gender mainstreaming efforts including the EAC Social Development framework (2013), the EAC child policy (2016) the EAC Youth policy (2013), a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for EAC Organs and Institutions, (2013) amongst others.
By the way, what are your research findings that you presented in a report on January 28? Are there any similarities and differences in gender studies in other East Africa countries?
The key findings from Kenya can generally be used to paint a picture of the situation in the EAC region. Apparent gender disparities in the region remain in a number of areas such as in political representation, access to education and training, access to quality and affordable healthcare, high unemployment rates of women, rampant sexual and gender-based violence, harmful cultural practices, inadequate financing for gender needs and programs.
Firstly, when asked about the status of gender equality, the majority of respondents identified gender equality as an important issue (96%) and that government should do more (invest) to promote gender equality.
Secondly, the role of religion and culture; how boys and girls are socialized and unequal representation were identified as obstacles to gender equality. This finding indicates the work that still remains to be done for gender equality actors in Kenya and other partner states in the EAC.
The most important step to achieving gender equality is dismantling systems and structures that promote and protect inequalities. whereas the country has made tremendous progress in having relevant legal and policy frameworks, there is still a lack of implementation of these laws – this finding answers the why question– because institutions, people and structures are still very patriarchal.
Furthermore, the lack of representation of women (also cited by Kenyan respondents as an obstacle) might explain the failures in the implementation of the laws and policies.
Thirdly, the respondents identified corruption as the most important issue facing the country. This finding is also supported by the 2019 Global Corruption Barometer – Africa survey that showed that more than half of citizens in the continent think graft is getting worse and that governments were doing very little to curb the vice.
The impact that corruption has on service delivery cannot be overemphasized especially on public goods such as healthcare, education, water and sanitation. More specifically, is the resulting lack of public financing to programs and interventions that address gender needs & promote gender equality.
A recent Corruption Perception Index (CPI) Report by Transparency International indicated that all the countries in East Africa with the exception of Rwanda scored below the global average rate of 43 out of 100.
More importantly, is that the report noted that countries that perform well on the CPI have strong enforcement of campaign finance regulations as this correlates with the dismal performance of women in politics who often than not do not have the requisite political funding to mount effective political campaigns and outcompete their male counterparts.
What would you say about discrimination or representation of women in politics in the region? Do you feel that women are not strongly encouraged in this political sphere?
There has been significant progress when it comes to women’s political representation and participation with a majority of the countries in the EAC region adopting constitutional quotas and other remedies to promote representation.
All the countries in the East Africa Community have achieved the 30% critical mass with the exception of Kenya (21%) and South Sudan (28%).
More women occupy ministerial portfolios that were perceived to be the preserve of men such as defence, foreign affairs, manufacturing, trade, public service and so forth. Not to miss that the leading country globally – Rwanda is from the region (63%).
However, most institutions including parliaments are still male-dominated and women in the region still face a number of challenges including violence against women in politics, religious and cultural beliefs and norms that limit women role, lack of support from political parties, lack of campaign financing and unregulated campaign financing environment with the progressive legal and policy frameworks yet to be fully implemented.
These challenges continue to limit the representation and participation of women in the public and political sphere. The region is yet to have a woman as a president just to illustrate the glass ceilings that remain.
Tell us about how women are perceived (public opinion) in society there? How is the state or government committed to change this situation, most probably by enacting policies?
“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I‘ll tell you what you value” This quote by President Joe Biden aptly captures the state of affairs in the region in relation to gender equality. The countries in the region have continued to enact and reform legal and policy frameworks but have largely remained unimplemented; the primary reasons being lack of financial and accountability mechanisms to ensure that these programs and policies are actualized.
For us to reach the conclusion that governments are committed to promoting gender equality and women empowerment, we need to see a shift from lip service to prioritization and adequate resourcing of programs that advance gender equality.
What platforms are there for improving gender equality, for ending gender-based violence and for discussing forms of discrimination there? Do you suggest governments have to act now to accelerate issues and progress on gender equality in East Africa?
As Deliver for Good Campaign partners in Kenya together with other gender equality advocates, the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa Agenda 2063 provide important blueprints to developing our society economically, socially and politically.
The Deliver for Good campaign is evidence-based advocacy campaigns that call for better policies, programming and financial investments in girls and women. Most importantly, the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) is an important mobilization moment to ask governments and the private sector to accelerate progress not just in East Africa but globally.
Specifically, we will be using this moment to call on governments, not only make bigger and bolder commitments but also, to ensure that they match these commitments with financing and accountability mechanisms.
As the Deliver for Good campaign partners in Kenya, we have a particular interest in one of the GEF Action Coalitions – Gender-Based Violence – to leverage on the Kenyan government leadership and the political will to end traditional practices that are harmful to women and girls such as Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage. Particularly and in line with the survey findings, we will be calling for: increased accountability for physical and sexual crimes against women; increased investment in prevention and protection programs while calling for inclusive efforts and programs that leave no woman behind in Kenya and East Africa.
Kester Kenn Klomegah is a versatile researcher and a passionate contributor. Most of his well-resourced articles are reprinted elsewhere in a number of reputable foreign media
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the 12th Primakov Readings conference held in Moscow on June 24, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, categorically emphasised that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) has suspended its future ambitions of expansion, citing divergences and rising perceptions over emerging geopolitical changes between members of the BRICS association. BRICS has experienced tectonic appreciation for its latest expansion from five to ten members, and for creating ‘partner membership’ status for 13 countries. While this was considered a significant achievement under Russia’s chairmanship in 2024, it has now turned into an obstacle confronting BRICS.
Lavrov acknowledged this key obstacle, sharp differences and disputes, as tarnishing the image and hindering, to some degree, the progress of the BRICS association. Primakov Readings was held to underline one of its aspirations, that is, to advance the growing question of multipolarity. In order to make a noticeable headway in establishing a new world order, it is necessary to rope in the East and the Global South to denounce the “rules-based order” and hegemony of the United States and Europe. BRICS, thus, conveniently, provides a platform for these countries to raise their voice and interaction in multilateral institutions and organisations. Acting collectively, they could considerably participate and expectedly rise to the global stage.
In his speech, Lavrov reiterated that the United States and the West in general have not accepted the objective reality of an emerging multipolar world order. They prefer propping up their weakening positions by forcing others to side with them, imposing sanctions, enacting bans, issuing threats and taking other illegitimate measures to force the Global Majority to play their game.
Lavrov, however, raised his genuine criticism: The West persists in its refusal to abide by the universally recognised international norms as outlined in the UN Charter, and has never fully respected them, in fact, even if everyone signing and ratifying the Charter undertakes to fully comply with its norms in their entirety and interconnection. This includes the sovereign equality of states and non-interference in domestic affairs, as well as respecting and guaranteeing human rights regardless of race, sex, language, or religion, to quote the UN Charter.
To unlock the potential of new powerhouses in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, a comprehensive agreement was initiated between China and Russia, as staunch driving forces behind BRICS, to increase its numerical strength by proposing new membership for BRICS. It all started with a pretext by inviting South Africa to join BRICS in 2010, then, under Russia’s presidency in 2024, the association moved from five to ten, by total membership.
Nevertheless, after only a couple of years, the planned ‘membership drive’ ultimately proved to be an obstacle to be managed within the current framework of BRICS. For China and Russia, this is a matter of regulatory principle – apparently, it will certainly not produce any positive results. In the end, to logically suspend BRICS’ future expansion. Without mincing words, Lavrov noted this point clearly: “We continue to comprehensively develop them while trying to stimulate the trilateral RIC – Russia-India-China – group. That format was shaped about 30 years ago at the initiative of Yevgeny Primakov and formed the core of BRICS. In our associations, cooperation is based on mutual respect and readiness to search for consensus solutions even when this is a challenging task. These things happen, and quite often. But the solutions we eventually find are guaranteed to serve common interests. That is why the number of countries willing to join the operations of BRICS and the SCO keeps growing, namely, in Central and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America,” Lavrov said.
Mentioning BRICS during the Primakov Readings forum in late June 2026 was quite important, as Yevgeny Primakov anticipated the evolutionary social development trends during his time. After the collapse of the Soviet era in 1991, we can see that the number of BRICS member states has almost doubled. While explaining these latest developments, that the number of full members has increased from five to ten, Lavrov further pointed out that “this is not how it happened when BRIC accepted South Africa, and the addition of one country posed questions that needed to be clarified to ensure forward movement. When BRICS turned into a group of ten, it was decided to give the new members time to adjust to each other. I believe that it is a correct decision.”
During the meeting of the BRICS Council of Foreign Ministers in India, discussions were held, in practical terms, a difficult conversation between Iranian and Emirati members. This happened in the hottest period of the Gulf confrontation, but eventually, it was managed to coordinate a joint document, despite the highly emotional opinions expressed by both sides. This was one case in point.
But, according to Lavrov’s explanation, other examples go deeper, to clashing economic interests. That is why it has been decided against pushing for further expansion for a few years. But the partner countries attend these events, which is creating grounds for giving BRICS a more universal dimension.
As for the agenda, BRICS is not an organisation, but rather an informal association. This is its strong side, because it would be wrong to create a rigid structure, at least at the current stage, especially a global structure rather than a continental or regional one. Many find this confusing. At least Russia won’t propose formalising BRICS, with the same structural status as the United Nations (UN).
Interesting to note and remind here, in an interview with Sky News Arabia on September 20, 2024, Lavrov expressed scepticism but was straight to the point about the strategic expansion of BRICS. Under Russia’s BRICS presidency, five countries – Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates became the second wave of the newest members to join BRICS.
Tracking down the history, operations and achievements, Lavrov acknowledged, in his interview, that BRICS is consolidating its positions and cooperating with some countries. At the same time, this association is facing serious challenges. It is necessary to promote collaboration based on a balance of interests, and most importantly, BRICS functions based on consensus. The consensus principle primarily aims at finding agreements that reflect the mutual accord of all participants. In practical terms, the more partners, the harder it is to search for accord. It takes more time to finalise any consensus-based agreement than a vote-based solution.
According to Lavrov, BRICS expansion has sparked debates and discussions over the past several years. The foreign minister indicated, and repeatedly explained, the “suspension” of membership in BRICS was primarily due to internal differences, perceptions and approach to geopolitical changes. As stipulated by the guidelines, there are no concrete criteria or rules for admission except using the flexible term “consensus” – a general agreement at summits, which was utilised in the selection process.
At the Primakov Readings, previously held in June 2024, the key point was an announcement by Sergey Lavrov over the ‘suspension’ of new membership. Then, in mid-June 2024, Lavrov hosted the BRICS Foreign Ministers Council in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod. The BRICS Foreign Ministers decided to suspend admission of new members, and this step was reflected in the final documents.
At present, the annual agenda is determined by the rotating presidency of BRICS. However, practice shows that every successive presiding country strives to ensure continuity. For example, during India’s presidency, BRICS members have been actively working to implement the initiatives which Russia presented during the Kazan summit in autumn 2024. Therefore, it is true that many countries are willing to join the group, which is an inspiring fact. However, BRICS looks for new forms of partner engagement and will, most probably, expand the informal association again.
As a show of indivisible and close-partnered bilateral relationship, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, without the least hesitancy, underlined this final decision to postpone BRICS expansion, at the summit in Kazan, capital of the autonomous Tatarstan Republic of the Russian Federation.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
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