Kenyan Leaders Urged to Make Room for Girls’ Voices in Decision-Making Tables
Posted by EDITORIAL
Dutch Ambassador to Kenya Henk Jan Bakker has challenged leaders to make room for girls’ voices in decision-making.
Speaking during the 6th Annual Girls Assembly, convened by Polycom Girls, Bakker said that leadership should not be about surrounding oneself with people who simply agree, but it is about listening to different perspectives and creating space for meaningful participation.
He also stressed that community and government are important assets in achieving sustainable development.He noted that development partners can provide support, but lasting development and scale ultimately require local ownership.
Held under the theme “Unleashing Authentic Feminine Leadership,” the Girls Assembly brought together women leaders, policymakers, development partners and women’s rights advocates for dialogue, learning, networking and idea-sharing.
Polycom Girls Founder and Executive Director Jane Anyango said the organisation remains committed to equipping girls with leadership skills and encouraging their meaningful participation in governance and political processes.
Aphline Yogo, Programs officer at Polycom, mentioned that creating opportunities for girls to articulate and advance their own ideas is at the heart of the assembly.
“Girls are pitching their ideas and we want them to be realized,” she said.
Yogo explained that the Assembly is centred on intentional participation and ownership, with girls themselves helping to shape both the assembly and the conversations taking place.
Florence Syevuo, Executive Director of the SDGs Kenya Forum, said development conversations must reflect the realities experienced by girls and young women.
“SDGs embody the lived realities of the girls,” she added.
Syevuo pointed to issues including safe environment, menstrual health and hygiene and technology-facilitated gender-based violence as examples of challenges that form part of girls’ everyday experiences.
“We cannot do development from a place of what we know. We must include the girls as we seek answers, reiterated Syevuo.
Through such assemblies, Polycom girls has connected more than 1000 young women with mentors, policymakers, women leaders, donors and development partners.This has helped translate commitments into opportunities for girls to lead and influence change.
