Doris Njoki Namu is a human rights monitor/ defender who was born and raised in a small village name Kiaragara in Embu County, Embu East Sub-county. Doris is passionate about humanity and is a huge believer that service to humanity is service to God.
She is one of a few women working in the human rights defending space and has been with the Independent Medico-Legal Unit for over 5 years.
The international women’s day this year’s theme is #BreakTheBias. The day marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Doris believes that this year’s theme means that as women we must move ahead and where bias exists whether deliberately or unconsciously, an action must be taken to level the playing field, to enable women to exploit their skills and deliver their duties appropriately without being discriminated in any manner.
As one of the people who amplified the Kianjokoma Brother’s case, I managed to visit the Kianjokoma village which was the scene of the incident after receiving an alert from the parents of the two brothers.
It wasn’t an easy task for me as a woman but it took the skills I have acquired in collecting evidence, courage, and my eight years’ experience in human rights monitoring and documentation to accomplish the entire task.
Message to fellow women and men during this year’s women Day is that:
- Men must allow women to expand in their places of work.
- Gender equality is inevitable today for a sustainable tomorrow through women’s leadership.
- Elimination of gender bias is crucial in ending all forms of discrimination against women and it’s not only a basic human right, but it’s also a multiplier effect across all other development areas.
- Inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group especially in a way considered to be unfair is bad and this must be stopped.
As women and men lets advocate on “breaking the bias” for a better tomorrow.