Members of the Grassroots Girls Club were invited to attend a women’s conference in Kenya that emphasized the importance of female representation in politics. The Daraja girls were the only teenagers in attendance.

“I want to fight for the rights of women and get into politics.”
This comes from 17-year-old Daraja student, Grace.

Form 2 student, Grace, attended the conference with Leila

Last week, she and fellow student, Leila, traveled from Daraja to the city of Nakuru, about four hours away from campus. They attended a conference on women’s opportunities in politics under Kenya’s new constitution put on by GROOTS (Grassroots Organizations Operating Together in Sisterhood), an organization that strives to “strengthen women’s participation in the development of communities and the approaches to problem solving.”

The girls were the only teens at the conference with about 110 women and 50 men in attendance, but they were quickly taken under the wings of the other women.

Grace said the conference emphasized how election tension between tribes can be reduced by cooperation between constituencies – in 2007 Kenya’s elections erupted in violence that killed around 1,200 people. She also said women were encouraged to run for public office and to take a stand against corruption in the government.

When Leila and Grace returned to campus they spoke about their experiences with the Grassroots Girls club at Daraja. The other members asked questions about the role of women in politics, but also what the girls’ trip off campus was like. Leila and Grace told them all about what they learned, but also gushed about staying in a hotel with a TV, although they didn’t have much free time to enjoy it.

And yes, they did jump on the beds.

Daraja freshman Carol reacts to Kenya’s recent stand against female genital mutilation: “Female genital mutilation was left behind by time and we should all stand together to fight against it.”

“I think this is a great step by the Kenyan government. The girl child is a very important treasure and female genital mutilation is one of the major problems that they face.

The cut is very dangerous because some girls lose their lives, some have problems when delivering and some have wounds that take a long time to heal. When some girls get the cut they continuously bleed, and when this is practiced in remote areas the girls may die since there is no one to attend to them. The girls who have received the cut should not count themselves less but should fight for the other girls and their children from this happening to them. Even though the practice is taken as a graduation into womanhood, it should be gotten rid of completely.

We should congratulate our government by playing our part. We should educate our fellow Kenyans on its consequences and also us girls, we should resist it by educating our parents about how bad it is. Female genital mutilation was left behind by time and we should all stand together to fight against it.

I’m proud for the step that Kenya has made and I’m waiting on to see that girls are free and can hold their heads up.”