[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 154 (Friday, October 14, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1875-E1876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     COMMEMORATING THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE KENYAN CONSTITUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 14, 2011

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, last August we witnessed a 
flowering of freedom in Eastern Africa. On August 5, 2010, Kenya 
endorsed a brand new constitution, which guaranteed all Kenyan citizens 
the rights to security, housing, food, life, freedom from 
discrimination and the freedom of expression, among others. I rise 
today to recognize the recent anniversary of this constitution's 
adoption, and to congratulate the Republic of Kenya on this remarkable 
step forward.
  Despite being home to the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace 
Prize--Wangari Maathi, who sadly passed away last month--Kenya had long 
treated women as second-class citizens. In the past, female candidates 
for office have had to carry knives and wear extra garments to fend off 
the possibility of politically-motivated rape.

[[Page E1876]]

  But the new constitution has dramatically altered the status of women 
in Kenya. Among the over 40 new reforms is a non-discrimination clause 
outlawing bias on the basis of sex, pregnancy or marital status. 
Additionally, women can own and inherit land, and matrimonial property 
is protected during and after the termination of marriage. 
Unconstitutional customary laws carried on by tradition are now void.
  Women's right have been elevated in the new Kenyan Constitution. But 
as anyone who lives in a democracy knows, constitutional mechanisms 
must be matched by meaningful enforcement and constant vigilance to 
actually achieve their goals.
  Kenya is facing many trials at the moment. The drought in the Horn of 
Africa is threatening the lives of over 13 million people. Food 
insecurity is affecting 3.75 million people in Kenya, and 4.3 million 
men, women, and children are in desperate need of humanitarian 
assistance.
  These numbers do not include the influx of refugees from Somalia and 
neighboring lands. At its peak, Kenya and Ethiopia saw nearly 1,000 
people a day arrive at refugee camps to escape the famine in Somalia. 
Sexual violence against women in these already overcrowded refugee 
camps is on the rise.
  There are no easy solutions to this crisis, and we in the United 
States must step up and do our part to help our fellow people in need. 
Nonetheless, in face of these adversities, it is heartening to see 
Kenya's men and women move forward together, as equals and as partners. 
By empowering Kenyan women and rejecting gender-based discrimination, 
the new Kenyan constitution has paved the way for a brighter future for 
the Kenyan people.

                          ____________________