The following was written by Linda Kavuka, an African Students For Liberty Executive Board Member. 

The Women For Liberty Seminar held on October 11th at the University of Nairobi was the first of its kind in Kenya. It attracted over 50 participants, with some traveling from as far as Eldoret (6 hours away) and Kitui (3 hours away), both out of town. The fact that women were the target audience also did not deter men from attending. The conversations that came up were very interesting, as the participants challenged each other, asked questions, and came up with solutions to the highlighted issues. This particular audience was very inspiring, being made up of ladies and gents form different schools and faculties of study. Liberty and Leadership formed the agenda for the day as this seminar was taking a different approach from the usual tired topics. Women have been empowered and it is time for young ladies to stop complaining and take advantage of the numerous opportunities accorded to them thanks to increased educational opportunities in the developing world. It is time for women to contest for leadership positions in society, politics, and the economy.

The first speaker was Miss Keziah Rutto who is a lawyer by profession and a member of the ASFL- Local Coordinator’s Training Program. She presented on the Rule of Law, a subject within her profession that is unfortunately foreign to many. The participants were challenged on issues many take for granted. She urged the participants to read the Constitution of Kenya, and at least familiarise themselves with Chapter 4 that provided for the Bill of Rights, the most important chapter to us not just as libertarians, but as human beings. The second speaker was Miss Najda Khan, a vocal advocate for human rights. She presented on human rights, stereotypes against women in leadership, and solutions to these challenges. She challenged the ladies in attendance by stating that we are more than empowered, and the message women should be preaching is that of inspiration and mentorship. She urged the ladies to move away from the crowd of women who complain about one issue or the other and that they should take charge of their lives and make their own decisions.

After the two presentations was a 10 minute break where the participants were served with refreshments as they socialised. The third speaker for the day was Miss Amina Farah who presented on the topic of mentorship. She told her personal story of how her mentor completely changed her life and helped her transform from a young naughty lady to a focused, purpose-driven woman able to make informed decisions. She was sad that none of her mentors were women, and encouraged the attendees to support each other. She explained what it means to be mentored and emphasized that the next step is to mentor someone else. I made the final presentation that touched on a number of issues by first introducing SFL, our purpose and our goal. I explained to the participants that Women For Liberty is a project of SFL aiming to bring together young ladies serving in leadership positions and to help them overcome challenges by coming up with solutions. The participants stated the various challenges female leaders face and also came up with a number of suggested solutions. There were interesting arguments in the room at this point, and it was evident that the crowd had been challenged to think.

At the end of the program, Jenn Masawa from the Student Organization of the University of Nairobi’s gender office gave her personal experience as a leader in one of the most dangerous and most contested positions in student organizations in Kenya. Being a lady, she was expected to cave in to the numerous threats that came her way. She overcame all this, and urged the ladies in the room not to complain, not to shy away, but to instead lead from the front. This was echoed by the female student leaders who had come from Moi University.

Finally, Alex Njeru, a member of the ASFL Executive Board, told a personal story of the women who shaped who he was today, his mother and grandmother. He encouraged the ladies to lead, to take up challenges, not to dwell on their differences with men and to be proud of being women. As agreed by all, we have exhausted women empowerment. It is now time to inspire and challenge young ladies, as no one will develop Africa except us. Some of the male participants encouraged and challenged the ladies to be the change they wish to see in society. The participants were glad that the seminar did not turn out as they had assumed, the usual argument that women are sidelined. Refreshments were served to the participants followed by distribution of SFL t-shirts, flyers and copies of the books Why Liberty and the Morality of Capitalism.