Harriette Chiggai, who advises President Ruto on Women's Rights, believes boys face neglect across society. She points out how communities focus more on girls than boys. This creates problems that lead to more violence against women and girls. During her International Women's Day speech last Saturday, Chiggai revealed that Nairobi reported 1,646 sodomy cases throughout 2024.
Chiggai shared a recent school visit where teachers told her girls eagerly take on assignments, but boys hang back. She thinks adults have let boys down by not reminding them of their value. Instead, society pushes negative attitudes toward boys. Chiggai warned that if each of Kenya's 47 counties sees around 1,000 similar abuse cases yearly, the future looks bleak.
These numbers represent just the cases people report, Chiggai explained. She calculated that even at a conservative estimate of 1,000 cases per county, Kenya faces 47,000 abused boys annually. This adds up to nearly half a million victims over a decade. Chiggai urges people to value and support boys exactly as they do girls.
She criticized how neighbors treat children outside their families. People often shoo away nearby kids without concern. Chiggai believes this shows how disconnected communities have become. She shared these views during celebrations when Kenyans gathered with others worldwide to honor women.
The UN Women organization picked this year's theme as Rights, Equality, and Empowerment for all women and girls. They explain that this theme asks everyone to take steps toward equal rights. The goal focuses on creating opportunities for everyone and building a feminist future that includes all people. UN Women emphasizes helping young people, especially young women and teenage girls because they can create permanent changes.
The celebration recognizes what women accomplish across many areas. It highlights how women help communities, businesses, the arts, and governments. This year, UN Women focuses on three main goals: pushing forward rights, making society treat everyone equally regardless of gender, and building power among those who lack it. International Women's Day began in 1911 when several European countries held the first celebrations.
Germany chose March 8 for the event in 1914, perhaps because it fell on a Sunday that year. The United Nations made the day official fifty years later, in 1975. Two years after that, the UN General Assembly asked countries to pick any date based on their traditions for Women's Rights and Peace Day. This year, we celebrate thirty years since the Beijing Declaration, which created plans for advancing women worldwide.
Chiggai shared a recent school visit where teachers told her girls eagerly take on assignments, but boys hang back. She thinks adults have let boys down by not reminding them of their value. Instead, society pushes negative attitudes toward boys. Chiggai warned that if each of Kenya's 47 counties sees around 1,000 similar abuse cases yearly, the future looks bleak.
These numbers represent just the cases people report, Chiggai explained. She calculated that even at a conservative estimate of 1,000 cases per county, Kenya faces 47,000 abused boys annually. This adds up to nearly half a million victims over a decade. Chiggai urges people to value and support boys exactly as they do girls.
She criticized how neighbors treat children outside their families. People often shoo away nearby kids without concern. Chiggai believes this shows how disconnected communities have become. She shared these views during celebrations when Kenyans gathered with others worldwide to honor women.
The UN Women organization picked this year's theme as Rights, Equality, and Empowerment for all women and girls. They explain that this theme asks everyone to take steps toward equal rights. The goal focuses on creating opportunities for everyone and building a feminist future that includes all people. UN Women emphasizes helping young people, especially young women and teenage girls because they can create permanent changes.
The celebration recognizes what women accomplish across many areas. It highlights how women help communities, businesses, the arts, and governments. This year, UN Women focuses on three main goals: pushing forward rights, making society treat everyone equally regardless of gender, and building power among those who lack it. International Women's Day began in 1911 when several European countries held the first celebrations.
Germany chose March 8 for the event in 1914, perhaps because it fell on a Sunday that year. The United Nations made the day official fifty years later, in 1975. Two years after that, the UN General Assembly asked countries to pick any date based on their traditions for Women's Rights and Peace Day. This year, we celebrate thirty years since the Beijing Declaration, which created plans for advancing women worldwide.
