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Showing posts from April, 2016

Deconstructing the myth of helpless, poor women of northern and north eastern Kenya

The northern and north eastern regions of Kenya are one of the most vulnerable region in the country. This is due to climatic, institutional, livelihood, environmental and cultural contexts that have shaped the development pattern in the area. The recurrent of droughts, inter clan conflicts and other forms of insecurity in the region has led to heightened vulnerability of the populations and hence underdevelopment. These communities, diverse as they can be, have experienced insecurity, cattle rustling, malnutrition, and droughts, among other things that have made them vulnerable. The most affected by these events are mostly women, children, disabled and the elderly. In as much as women are highly affected, they are also one of the most resilient groups in these parts of the world. Thus, their efforts, desire for change, and ability to make the best of out of the challenging situations that they face are occasionally overshadowed by the mainstream narratives. The communities tha

A speech I wrote for a job application that never went through-LGBTQ rights

Ladies and gentlemen, On this day we are gathered here to talk about human rights, something that has been talked about for decades and appears quite straightforward and clear. Our presence here today shows that human rights for all are not a reality yet and we have to change that and give every human being their inherent rights to dignity and recognise the universal declarations of human rights as stating that. These rights apply to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Denying people their inherent rights and dignity because of their sexual orientation and identity violates not only the international laws and norms we swore to uphold but also our moral obligations to our fellow brothers and sisters. For long, the members of LGBTQ in Africa have faced discrimination, assaults, threats on their lives and being driven out  of their homes for being themselves and loving another human being, an act of love that should not generate hate and fear.  Today, the gay a