NAIROBI, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Kenya marked International Women's Day on Tuesday with senior officials renewing a pledge to advance gender parity as a means to achieve inclusive growth, cohesion and stability.
President Uhuru Kenyatta who led the celebrations in the capital, Nairobi, said his government was committed to eliminating institutional, policy and cultural barriers that were derailing progress towards achieving the universal goal of gender parity.
"We are committed to accelerating progress towards gender equality in the country as part of our socio-economic transformation," Kenyatta remarked.
Kenyatta said that Kenya has in the last decade achieved significant progress towards gender parity as evidenced by rising girls' enrollment at all levels of schooling in addition to free maternity services and vocational training for women.
He said women had occupied strategic positions in the public and private sectors, thanks to the enactment of affirmative action legislation and policies.
Kenyatta said that elimination of harmful cultural practices that hinder women's progress including female genital cut and childhood marriages was on course thanks to political goodwill and citizens' support.
He said the theme of this year's International Women's Day "Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow" dovetailed with Kenya's quest to leverage gender parity and realize green and resilient future.
According to the president, the government had enacted progressive legislation to ensure women's land rights were not violated besides providing them with training, mentorship and seed capital to enable them to venture into entrepreneurship.
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta said that investments in girl-child education, elimination of user fees at maternity facilities and access to contraceptives had boosted the health of women and girls.
On her part, visiting First Lady of Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame stressed that closing the gender gap was key to attaining the sustainability agenda across the East African region.
Jeannette called on governments to enact gender-sensitive policies and legislation to ensure that women play a major role in climate action and the quest to transform livelihoods. ■