First Lady Rachel Ruto has called for more support for widows so that they are economically empowered.<\/p>\n
The First Lady said widows face economic insecurity, social isolation, and physical and emotional abuse.<\/p>\n
Mrs Ruto spoke Sunday in Musungu Grounds, Vihiga County, during this year\u2019s commemoration of the International Widows Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us ensure the widowed rebuild their lives and are able to support their families,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She pointed out that many widows have been robbed of their lands and other property<\/p>\n
Mrs Ruto said discrimination and lack of support makes them vulnerable to exploitation and marginalisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to support these women to invest in economic activities that will uplift their livelihoods,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She urged women to take advantage of different funds the government has set up to borrow money and improve their lot.<\/p>\n
These include the Women Enterprise and Hustlers funds, among others.<\/p>\n
She further urged women to take advantage of Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO). This fund sets the legal requirement for women, youth and persons with disabilities to access 30% of government procurement.<\/p>\n
Vihiga Governor Wilbur Otichillo said widows suffer many injustices due to lack of legal representation and urged them to seek help from National Government or county officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cLand matters affecting widows should also be addressed without delay,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
He said the county government is conducting research in Vihiga on why more men than women die.<\/p>\n
He urged families to write legal wills on what they own to avoid conflicts among family members.<\/p>\n
The President\u2019s Advisor on Women\u2019s Rights Harriette Chiggai said various laws safeguard the interests of widows, and urged them to remain outspoken when they face legal challenges.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s theme is Accelerating the Achievement of Gender Equality.<\/p>\n
Vihiga Women Representative Beatrice Adagala said President William Ruto has continuously supported women empowerment programmes across the country.<\/p>\n
She cited the Women Enterprise Fund and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund as pivotal in women\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n
Sabatia MP Clement Logova urged leaders to establish support programmes for women.<\/p>\n
She encouraged widows to take advantage of available business opportunities.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are strong women and you have a bright future ahead of you, Mr Logova said.<\/p>\n
The post First Lady calls for more support for widows<\/a> first appeared on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First Lady Rachel Ruto has called for more support for widows so that they are economically empowered. The First Lady said widows face economic insecurity, social isolation, and physical and emotional abuse. Mrs Ruto spoke Sunday in Musungu Grounds, Vihiga County, during this year\u2019s commemoration of the International Widows Day. \u201cLet us ensure the widowed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56928\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}