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WOMEN'S REGIONAL ASSEMBLIES

From 2002 to 2007, the Caucus has been implementing her Working Program whose central theme was enhancing women’s voice in decision-making, leadership and development.

During this period, the Caucus realized that there existed several barriers that continued to prevent women from getting out of the poverty trap as well as participating in decision-making. These included social cultural attitudes, illiteracy, lack of business skills, domestic responsibilities and the fact that leadership is reserved for men-many think.

The Caucus realised that the complexity of these issues demanded change agents be present and visible in the target communities to support, facilitate and encourage required change throughout the duration of the change process.  This need gave birth to 29 Women's Regional Assemblies located in 29 Districts and spread out in all the 8 Provinces of Kenya.

The rationale behind this strategy is that effective and sustainable support for women’s participation in socio-economic development processes must engage and be led by members of that community. The Caucus plays a facilitative and technical supportive role, while the membership implements all program activities.

Awakening the Sleeping Giant

It’s a tested model of ensuring women’s participation in leadership at all levels of decision-making! It has worked in Rwanda and is already giving positive results in Kenya.
The establishment of the Women Regional Assemblies can be likened to ‘waking up a sleeping giant’. Since their inception in 2003, the country has witnessed the emergence of a new crop of women leaders at the grassroots level. Assemblies have proved to be effective vehicles that women can use to access leadership. See Hon Lorna Laboso’s journey to the Kenya National Assembly
So far, the Caucus has established 29 WRA’s through out Kenya each with a membership in excess of 1,000 women.

Go to Bureti WRA, Go to Uasin Gishu WRA, Go to Mombassa WRA, Go to Nakuru WRA, Go to Kwale WRA

Why the Women's Regional Assemblies? The establishment of the Women's Regional Assemblies by the Caucus, was in recognition to the need of having well defined grassroots linkages and structures in order to make more impact at all levels. Before the establishment of the assemblies, the Caucus had no centralized form of coordination at the district and grassroots levels. This occasionally presented numerous challenges related to mobilization, information exchange, lobbying and advocacy, as well as, monitoring key political and socio-economic processes at the grassroots levels.   Geographical Locations of Already Established Assemblies

• HIV/AIDS and negative cultural practices.
• Good governance and Women’s participation in leadership
• Economic empowerment and poverty reduction
• Peace building and conflict resolution, among others.