The Fish Youth Group, of which I am a new member was founded in 1985 by two missionaries, Fr. Antony Chantry and Sr Mary Ellen (currently out of Kenya). It is a group made up of young people with lots of vision.We have worked on many educative and enlightening programmes but none like our most current.
We are conducting a seminar on Gender empowerment organised by ActionAid Kenya (Western Kenya Region) and facilitated by KEFEADO (Kenya Female Advisory Board)
Issues arising, though not of our making create a lot of contention. It is like the different genders have been pitted against each other, which is something i find positive as there is so much room for construstive criticism.
It is unfortunate though, that in the community some of our members come from,most of the problems we are now citing stem from the fact that socio-cultural concepts have had a negative effect on our growing minds.We realise how much cultural conditioning contributes to our outlook on gender issues.
We hope to see an increase in the number of young men and women who cherish the values of a wholistic understanding of gender and development.
We are a group representative of all sexes in our membership, which has been a good starting point for the reformatory programme whose aim is to mainstream gender issues in our everyday lives.
It is saddening though, that in our community,women have been systematically removed from fully participating in the development process despite their active participation in the production process alongside men.
Their subordination has been sexualised, the pressure coming from society itself, the environment and myths perpetuated by our cultural conditioning during the socialization process. majority of men and women simply repeat what they were told when they were young. As a group, we have found that people have failed to think and in failing to do so both internalised and taken the myths as gospel truth.
An education on gender issues thus enlightens someone as it facilitates a change of ideaology, belief in oneself and the buttress of the good in ones culture.