Ladies, this is why you need your own money
A woman holds a ward of cash.
What you need to know:
- In a recent survey conducted in Kajiado County, the women interviewed explained economic empowerment in a simple yet profound way.
- It recommended that policymakers address systemic barriers that stand in the way of women’s economic empowerment.
If women’s power is inherent, then why do they need empowerment? This is a question I’ve grappled with before on these pages. As much as I’m uncomfortable with the word empowerment, its existence in the world of gender equality speaks to the fact that women’s power is often systematically and forcefully taken from them – their voices, their choices, their wealth, their health – and empowerment is a route to bringing it back.
Specifically, economic empowerment sits right at the top of the pile as women must make their own money to reclaim their inherent power.
“No matter how little, it's important to have your own money so that if you ever have to make the choice of leaving a marriage, you do not walk naked.” These words were uttered by one of my mother’s best friends, the late Helen Amanya Munyendo. Like my mother, she also had three daughters and never missed a chance to remind us that we needed to have a source of income as women.
She epitomised this with a thriving career in nutrition, working at prestigious institutions that ensured her financial independence. Don’t get me wrong, a woman having her own money – economic empowerment – is not just about having the power to walk away.
As UN Women says, it includes “women's ability to participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives and bodies; and increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels from the household to international institutions”.
In a recent White Ribbon Alliance Kenya survey titled What Women Want for Economic Empowerment, conducted in Kajiado County, the women interviewed explained economic empowerment in a simple yet profound way. For them, it was about having and owning resources, and being able to use the resources for their own personal gain.
Given the challenges they face in their quest for economic empowerment, like lack of capital to start and sustain a business, lack of knowledge or business skills, and low levels of formal education, it’s easy to see how commonplace it is to be economically disempowered. The study also linked economic disempowerment to women's health, specifically the affordability of healthcare, which includes health insurance and maternal healthcare, lack of menstrual health commodities and poor sanitation and hygiene.
The report recommended that policymakers address these systemic barriers that stand in the way of women’s economic empowerment, which include access to financial resources through loans, grants, wages, and increased education and training. This will go a long way in ensuring that women are not left naked, to paraphrase Ms Munyendo.
In the words of Angela Nguku, the White Ribbon Alliance Kenya executive director, igniting the economic power of women and girls is crucial to building a more equitable and prosperous future for the current and future generations.
The writer comments on social and gender topics ([email protected]; @FaithOneya).
