Jane Anyango is a women’s rights activist based in Kibera, an informal settlement outside of Nairobi in Kenya. As the director of Polycom Development Project she has dedicated her work to amplifying the voices of women and girls from her community so that they can influence issues that affect their lives. We talk to this trailblazer about what motivates her to promote the rights of #AllNotSome women in her community and how Beijing+25 is the vehicle for change.

Womankind: Hi Jane, can you start by telling us what was your life like 25 years ago?

Jane: 25 years ago, I was a mother to 2 children, living in the slums, already struggling to bring change to my community. I wasn’t brought up in the slums but in the village, I did not like my small mad house, I did not like the sanitation, I did not like the fact that I was living in poverty. I always dreamt of having a better life in a bigger house outside the slums.

Womankind: What was life like for women and girls in Kenya 25 years ago generally?

Jane: Women were more submissive and most of them who never had jobs depended on their husbands to provide for them. The rights were not yet clear, women would only murmur or talk in low tones if there was something wrong happening within the community, without structures or even channels to follow report violations.

Womankind: We know that all women and girls face discrimination, but women and girls in informal settlements face unique challenges to their rights. What are some of the issues you and other women and girls in your community face?

Jane: Some of the challenges we face as women and girls are:

1. Insecurity – Most of our corridors are dark and very dangerous for women to walk along alone, especially at night. Women and girls are robbed and are exposed to sexual harassment.
2. Poor sanitation – There are only a few shared toilets, this is very unhealthy to women and girls who must go down to use them, this contribute highly to infections which are very hard to treat.
3. Access to water – Water is fetched from so far and is also very expensive, the women are face with insecurity when they wake up early to look for water, and for girls going to school who must shower before going to school it is even tougher, waking up to look for water and getting to school on time. Can you imagine if a girl is on her period and there is no money to buy water?
4. Displacements and forceful evictions – women who are single are not respected at all, they are always forced out of their houses and not allowed live peacefully.

 Womankind: How does this make you feel?

Jane: It is so sad when you see people suffering because of a lack of basic commodities, it is also very sad that there are duty bearers who are supposed to ensure that women do not suffer so much yet they aren’t doing much to stop their suffering.

Womankind: On your journey to being a champion for the women and girls in your community was there a specific experience that was a turning point?

Jane: I refused to accept the situation I was living in. I started hearing a lot of conversation about what other women were doing out there to make change happen.

One day I came across an incident where a 39 year old man was caught in sexual act with an adolescent girl. Many people were after the man’s prosecution but none were concerned about the girl’s welfare.  I remained with the girl.

This was a wake-up call to me to fill the gap, it was very frustrating though how much people blamed the girl for what she had done. I am glad I took my time to listen to her and to rescue other girls.

Later I decided to start bringing girls together so I could teach them on the need to take care of their bodies and make informed decisions about their bodies.

Womankind: Since then, what has been your role in the women’s movement in Kenya over the past 25 years?

Jane: My role in the movement has been bridging existing gaps between the community women and more privileged women. I have been working hard to get the women who do not stay in the community to understand what women in the community go through and develop relevant programs that would bring change to their lives.

I have also been able to take the voices of grassroots women and girls to national, regional and global conversations. I have an office that is changing thousands of lives.

Womankind: What is the biggest change for women in Kenya since 1995?

Jane: I want to speak for the women in the slums, we are able to mobilise better and to fight for our spaces, but we need resources to make this work visible.

Womankind: What does Beijing + 25 mean to you?

Jane: What it means to me is that the government has a responsibility to protect women and that the women have a right to claim their rights from the government and to hold the government accountable as far as their human rights are concerned.

I feel a little frustrated because I know what should be done yet I cannot do much because as a grassroots women access to resources is a challenge. Not many donors support community initiated projects.

Beijing +25 will bring ignored voices to the limelight and the united voices will bring big change in the Kenya. Beijing +25 should leave no one behind, there should be resources for community initiated programs.

Unity is power, let’s create a level ground for everyone, we each have something to offer.