Retrogressive cultural activities and insecurity have been blamed for declining education standards, Baringo County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Youth, Gender, e-Government and ICT Maureen Limashep has said.
Speaking during commemoration of the World Widows Day to acknowledge the plight of women in conflict-prone areas in Marigat, the official called for urgent interventions by education stakeholders in the area to address the matter.
Limashep said women bore the brunt of raising children in such areas with majority of pupils abandoning school due to abject poverty fueled by banditry, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early marriages and other outdated cultures.
The CECM lauded Groots International, an NGO, for being instrumental in advocating for women’s rights in such areas areas and assured them that the government was committed to assisting them in due time.
Women Caucus Chairperson Loice Kipseba praised the spirited efforts by the organization in highlighting challenges faced by women.
Kipseba, who is also a nominated Member of County Assembly (MCA), promised to push for legislations that will see pupils raised by widows prioritized during disbursement of bursaries.
She called on the government to take stern action on culprits enabling Domestic and Gender Based Violence, and insecurity reigning supreme along porous the borders of Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo South, Tiaty and Baringo North.
By Alfred Kimosop
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