Editor's Review

Pastor Dorcas Rigathi on Monday, March 6, took the boy child agenda to delegates from across the world who had gathered at the United Nations in New York.  on Monday, March 6, took the boy child agenda to delegates from across the world who had gathered at the United Nations in New York. 

Pastor Dorcas Rigathi on Monday, March 6, took the boy child agenda to delegates from across the world who had gathered at the United Nations in New York. 

In her remarks, Pastor Dorcas related how the empowerment of the boy child affects the advancement of the rights of girls and women.

"Gender equality cannot be achieved by only focusing on women and girls to the exclusion of the male gender. We can attain more through the involvement of men and boys," Pastor Dorcas told the delegates.

She recommended a raft of measures and strategies that would be employed by UN member countries to build positive masculinity among men and boys from across the world and aid in ending gender-based violence. She also pointed out the dangers that lay ahead if the plight of the boy child continued to be ignored.

This was during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) convened at the UN Headquarters in New York, US, from March 6 to March 17, where she explored the topic ‘Amplifying Gender Sensitive Approaches: Male Engagement and Inclusion in Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls’.

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 Pastor Dorcas Rigathi Take Boy Child Campaign to United Nations

She highlighted the critical role that the male gender plays in preventing gender-based violence against women and girls, especially in Africa, where families are highly patriarchal and headed by males.

"We must engage boys and men at the family, community, and national levels in order to protect our girls and women. It is disheartening to see the man whose role is to protect become physically, sexually, emotionally, financially, and psychologically dysfunctional. 

"We have observed that due to a lack of employment, boys are at a higher risk of abusing drugs, being recruited into violent extremist groups and gangs, becoming depressed, and committing suicide, and such boys are likely to become perpetrators of gender-based violence against women and girls," she said.

Present during the presentation of Her Excellency were Permanent Secretary of State Department for Gender in Kenya Veronica Nduva, Kewopa Chair and Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, Senator Veronica Maina, and EALA MP Florence Jematia among others.

MP Wamuchomba presented the case for Kenya in the empowerment of men and role in fighting gender-based violence at the legislative level.

PS Nduva detailed the policies and multisectoral approaches adopted in the country, which included the Sexual Offences Act, the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act, the Constitution and Penal Code among others.

Earlier in the day, Pastor Dorcas attended a meeting of the Kenyan delegation attending the CSW67 held at Kenya’s mission in New York and also the United Nations General Assembly.

The UN General Assembly had presentations around the priority theme ‘Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’.

The Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President (OSDP) has a vision of ‘A Dignified Future for Vulnerable Populations’ that include the boy child, widows, orphans, and persons with disabilities.