Young urban women are urging lawmakers to consider economic profitability and the social, health, and political outcomes of their decisions when enacting laws. This was a key finding from research commissioned by ActionAid International Kenya (AAIK) through the Young Urban Women (YUW) project. The research, conducted between January and May 2024 in Nairobi and Mombasa, aimed to explore the impact of neoliberalism and international financial institutions’ policies on Kenya’s macroeconomy. The findings are intended to inform advocacy for a feminist well-being economy.
The study highlighted how unintentional gaps in the lawmaking process contribute to gender-related income disparities and high poverty levels. The young women involved are advocating for inclusive laws and considering society’s diverse needs. They emphasized the importance of lawmakers assessing how different demographics are impacted by legislation.
Researcher Khamati Shilabukha from the University of Nairobi’s Department of Anthropology, Gender, and African Studies, and an independent consultant, noted that violence linked to crime and lack of productivity is on the rise. He emphasized how policies enacted over the years have disproportionately affected women, particularly young women, in areas like health, labour, and gender-based violence.
“We need policies that serve the interests of the Kenyan society,” said Shilabukha. “For example, a tax on sanitary towels is discriminatory, it affects women, especially those who are poor and cannot afford them. Such laws are retrogressive, taking us back to a time when menstruation led to the seclusion of women and girls. Menstruation is a natural process, and it’s unfair to penalize women for it.”
Millicent Akinyi, a young urban woman from Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Nairobi, called on Kenyans to exercise their civic duty by electing representatives attuned to the needs of women and society.
“We need to re-evaluate the cost of healthcare and education to make them affordable for everyone. Taxes should be used to facilitate these critical services so that
citizens can benefit,” she asserted.
Samson Orao, Programme and Strategy Lead at AAIK, stressed that austerity measures proposed by multilateral financial institutions, such as employment freezes in healthcare and education and cutbacks in agriculture, water, and infrastructure, would disproportionately affect women and youth. These sectors are vital to Kenya’s development, and reducing funding would have widespread consequences.
Key Recommendations from the Research Include:
• Strengthening labor policies and rights, particularly for informal, vulnerable, and unemployed workers.
• Ensuring multinational corporations pay their fair share of taxes by bolstering anti-tax avoidance policies.
• Advocating for expanded social protection schemes to support young mothers and the unemployed.
• Implementing progressive domestic taxation systems that enable the government to finance gender-responsive public services and social protection.
• Advocating for and adopting feminist economic alternatives that prioritize gender-responsive budgeting and planning at the national level.
• The research concludes that macroeconomic policies should prioritize creating an enabling environment for young women in Kenya.