- As International Day of the Girl approaches, Astiba Kebong’o calls for sustained child-rights education nationwide.
- She argues that schools can help girls understand their rights, report abuse and remain protected.
- Kebong’o says government agencies, families and communities must jointly confront practices threatening girls’ futures.
As Kenya prepares to mark the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, the recent child justice awareness campaign by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) could not have come at a more appropriate time.
The ODPP Children Division recently took its child justice awareness programme to Maasai Girls Senior School and Ilmashariani Primary School in Narok County, where learners were sensitised on child protection, female genital mutilation (FGM), sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), reporting mechanisms and access to justice.
Learners were encouraged to speak up and seek assistance from trusted adults and relevant agencies, while teachers were reminded of their responsibility to identify and respond to abuse.
This is a commendable initiative that deserves not only recognition but also expansion.
Knowledge empowers children
Knowledge is power, particularly when it equips a child to recognise wrongdoing, understand her rights and seek help. A girl who knows that she is entitled to safety, dignity and education is better positioned to challenge circumstances that threaten her wellbeing and future.
The timing is significant. As the country prepares to celebrate the girl child, we must look beyond ceremonial speeches and ask whether our institutions and communities are doing enough to create an environment in which girls can grow, learn and realise their potential.
Kenya has made considerable progress in protecting children through legislation and policy, yet harmful practices remain a concern in some communities. FGM, child marriage, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancy and other forms of violence can interrupt a girl’s education and expose her to lifelong consequences.
The Children Act, 2022 provides important legal protections for children, including against harmful cultural practices that may negatively affect a child’s life, health, dignity or development. The challenge, however, is ensuring that these protections are understood beyond legal and government circles.
Children need to know that the law protects them.
This is where the ODPP’s school-based approach becomes particularly valuable. Taking child justice education directly to learners brings the law closer to those it is intended to protect. It gives children an opportunity to ask questions, understand reporting channels and appreciate that seeking help is not an act of disobedience or betrayal.
The initiative should therefore be extended beyond Narok to schools in other regions of the country.
A sustained national child-rights awareness programme involving the ODPP, Ministry of Education, Teachers Service Commission, State Department for Children Services, schools, parents, law-enforcement agencies and other child-protection partners would give this important work greater reach and continuity.
Schools are critical protection spaces
Schools are particularly strategic spaces for such interventions.
Teachers interact with learners regularly and may be among the first adults to notice changes in behaviour, unexplained absenteeism, withdrawal, fear or declining participation. They therefore need continuous professional support on child safeguarding, appropriate responses to disclosures and referral mechanisms.
However, teachers cannot shoulder this responsibility alone.
Parents and guardians must also understand children’s rights and create homes where young people can speak without fear. Communities must be prepared to question practices that place children at risk, even when those practices are defended in the name of culture.
Culture should preserve what is valuable in society, not perpetuate practices that compromise a child’s dignity and future.
Religious leaders, community elders and other influential voices can contribute significantly by challenging harmful practices and promoting values that uphold the wellbeing of children.
The education sector also has a crucial role in keeping girls in school. Education is more than the acquisition of academic knowledge. It builds confidence, expands opportunities and enables young people to make informed choices about their lives.
When a girl is forced out of school through child marriage, abuse, pregnancy or harmful cultural practices, the consequences extend beyond the individual. Families lose potential, communities lose talent and the country loses part of its human capital.
This makes child protection an educational issue as much as it is a legal and social one.
The Ministry of Education should therefore continue strengthening guidance and counselling, safeguarding structures and partnerships that enable schools to respond effectively to threats facing learners. Child protection should not be treated as an occasional campaign but as part of the everyday responsibility of an education system that seeks to develop the whole child.
Turn awareness into sustained action
The ODPP’s engagement with learners provides a useful example of how justice institutions can become more accessible to children. Prosecutors do not have to wait for cases to reach the courtroom before interacting with the communities they serve. Preventive education can help children recognise danger, seek assistance early and understand the justice system.
As we approach October 11, therefore, the celebration of the girl child should prompt serious reflection.
Are we merely celebrating our girls, or are we creating the conditions in which they can thrive?
The answer lies in what happens after the speeches, songs and celebrations.
Let prosecutors reach more schools. Let educators strengthen safeguarding. Let parents listen to their children. Let communities reject practices that place girls at risk. Let government agencies coordinate their interventions. Above all, let every girl know that her voice matters and that there are institutions and people prepared to listen when she speaks.
The Bible reminds us in Proverbs 31:8: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.” This is a responsibility that should resonate with every adult entrusted with the welfare of children.
The ODPP has taken an important step by bringing child justice education into schools. The opportunity now is to build on that momentum and make such engagement a sustained national programme.
The true measure of our commitment to the girl child will not be the number of celebrations we hold, but whether our girls are safe, informed, confident and able to remain in school and pursue their aspirations.
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When a girl knows her rights, she is better equipped to protect her future. When a school protects her, it protects her potential. And when a nation protects its girls, it invests in the future of the nation itself.
By Astiba Kebong’o
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