Women’s rights and writing: Lawyer Enid Muthoni’s rise to global stage
In “Women’s rights and writing: Lawyer Enid Muthoni’s rise to global stage,” Nation profiles the Center’s Chief Program Officer Enid Muthoni, describing her rise from a schoolgirl in a small Kenyan village to an influential reproductive rights advocate. Muthoni explains that witnessing oppressive practices in her own community, such as female genital mutilation (FGM), initially inspired her to pursue law.
“This was the answer to what I witnessed as I was growing up,” Muthoni said. “I wanted to be the woman that helped put a stop to the problems.”
Muthoni also discusses the state of Kenyan reproductive rights, including young people’s access to sex education and contraception. In Kenya, unsafe abortion is the leading cause of death in girls aged 15 to 19.
“Age-appropriate education is important in teaching people reproductive rights from a young age. The form of contraception we got when young was that we should stay away from the opposite sex and abstain, which is not effective,” Muthoni said. “These youngsters are not given access to contraceptions or related information.”
Muthoni has recently released three books, titled Breaking At The Seams, Memoirs of a Gender Focal Point, and The Little Book of Marriage and Divorce, in which she discusses gender issues, relationships, and her own life and career. Though her writing, she aims to help empowered women navigate difficult experiences.
“It is really satisfying to help and watch a person finally get the courage to fight for the justice she truly deserves,” Muthoni said.
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