International Women’s Day (IWD) has been observed since the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. In 1908, a huge unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. In their quest to advocate for voting rights, shorter work hours and better pay by 15,000 women in New York in 1908, International Women’s Day was born. The now, global celebration highlights the achievement of women championing cultural, economic, social, and political causes worldwide.
On Tuesday 8th March, 2022, Kibabii University community led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Isaac Ipara Odeo congregated to mark the important day. The annual event organized by the Institute of Gender and Development Studies was graced by the Chief Guest Rev. Joselyne Isigi, a motivational speaker and mentor.
In his address, the Vice Chancellor indicated the need for every individual in the Institution to embrace equality and break the barriers that have existed for generations.
“Great men are the ones that respect their women in the society. A woman should not be harassed in any way or the other,” he said.
The VC gave account of the several instances where support has played key in turning around livelihoods among students, staff and their close families. He noted that the University has led in extending to women opportunities to manage and run key departments and their performance has been exemplary. While encouraging this trend, he challenged the society to support the boy child, saying the male gender has been ignored in efforts to address girls’ issues.
In her remarks, the Chief Speaker Mrs. Isigi encouraged teamwork and support at the workplace while insisting on people taking responsibility without giving excuses. She called upon positive inter-gender complementary efforts in the running of their day-to-day activities as a way of curbing cases of family conflicts that have been on the rise in the recent past.
“Now and then we hear suicidal cases among men and women. It’s my humble appeal to parents and lecturers in our universities to guide students accordingly,” she said.
The event laid a platform for presentation of certificates to members of staff who had made contributions to support needy students throughout the past year during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
