Lodwar -March 6, 2026 (Public Communication and Media Relations)
Turkana County commemorates International Women’s Day, celebrated every March to recognize the achievements of women and advocate for gender equality.
This year’s theme “Give to Gain: Rights, Justice, Action for All Women and Girls” is a rallying call aimed at accelerating gender parity. This is through collective action and shared responsibility in advancing women’s rights.
The event brought together multi-sectoral stakeholders including ADRA Kenya, Kenya Red Cross Society, UNFPA, and Gender Watch Groups drawn from 30 wards across Turkana County. This provided a platform for dialogue on women’s empowerment, rights protection, and inclusive development.
Speaking at the event, the County Executive Committee Member for Trade, Gender and Tourism, Wangiros James reaffirmed the County Government’s commitment to empowering women economically. This he said, is through employment opportunities, and affirmative action policies.
He revealed that the county government has so far tripled the number of women employees from just 453 to 1,251 in various sectors as part of its strategy to promote economic inclusion and gender equality.
“The County Government remains committed to uplifting women economically. We continue to prioritize their participation in development,” he said.
The CECM further noted that the County Government is implementing the 30 per cent procurement reservation for women, youth and persons with disabilities, ensuring women owned enterprises benefit from county tenders and contracts.
“Thirty per cent of this county’s contracts are awarded to women, in line with the government’s affirmative action policies aimed at enhancing economic empowerment and participation of women in development,” he added.
He also assured participants that the County Government is working towards finalizing and implementing the Turkana County Gender Policy before the end of the year. This is towards strengthening institutional frameworks that promote gender equality.
St. Patrick’s Missionary Society representative, Eunice Majuma, called on the County Government to facilitate a public participation process to ensure the effective implementation of the Gender Policy once it is finalized.
“We request the county government to support and facilitate public participation across the wards so that communities, especially women, can contribute to the successful implementation of the Turkana County Gender Policy before the end of the year,” Majuma said.
At the same time, Eunice Ateyo, a representative of Friends of Lake Turkana, stressed that the fight against gender-based violence is far from over, noting that women and girls in some communities continue to face serious violations of their rights.
“Our goal of eliminating gender-based violence has not yet been achieved. Women and girls are still facing rape and forced marriages in some communities, and we must continue strengthening protection mechanisms and awareness,” Ateyo said.
Participants also called for sustained advocacy, awareness creation and effective policy implementation to ensure women and girls fully enjoy their rights and opportunities in society.
Present were Mollen Onderi (Deputy Director for Gender), Hellen Emojo (Chief Gender Officer), and Emmanuel Lobuin (Senior Gender officer).
