Do We Have to Die Ignorant?

Do We Have to Die Ignorant?

Imagine living in the United States being unable to read, write and do basic math. You go and work in the fields all day long, as that is the only activity that does not require or need intellectual knowledge to be done. You as a woman, are unaware of any of your rights and capabilities so you are taken advantage of by many. Unfortunately for women in Kenya, they do not receive equal rights in comparison to men. The United Nation Human Development Index released that, “Kenya has been put as East Africa’s second most unequal society after Rwanda” (Gibendi). Women in Kenya face inequality in many spheres of their life. Every woman deserves a chance to live life freely and obtain equal opportunities. Inequality of women in Kenya causes women to be deprived of education, therefore they are not able to manage for themselves access to quality healthcare.

Women in Kenya are being denied the opportunity to receive an education. The Foundation for Sustainable Development stated that, “women continue to be educated at an inferior rate to their counterparts, increasing their reliance upon men” (FSD).  Due to the lack of education women receive, they remain illiterate. The government has a bias when depriving women of a proper education. Yet men are provided with more opportunities for education and jobs. Being illiterate can cause many hardships in one’s life, as it makes it difficult to communicate and understand most of one’s surrounding society. When a person is uneducated, he or she loses out on many aspects of life, such as having access to quality healthcare. If a person is illiterate, it is only more burdensome for that person to understand the systems of healthcare and hospitals, as they are very complex.

CIA factbook explains that, “Kenya’s maternal mortality rate is currently 366/100,000 of live births” (CIA). UNICEF statistics demonstrate that approximately 550,000 women in Kenya die during childbirth every year (UNICEF). Maternal mortality rates conclude that pregnant or women giving birth, are dying due to the lack of sanitary conditions and the unreliable care that is provided. The inability to give beneficial care for many of the women in Kenya leads to such high mortality rates. Obviously women in Kenya that die are no longer able to receive any type of education or progress, making it a smaller percentage of women advocating for their rights. The Huffington Post explained that, “43.8 percent of births in Kenya were attended to by trained health personnel as of 2011 against a 2015 target of 90 percent. Only 43 percent of deliveries take place in health facilities” (Hanstad). Clearly Kenyan women would benefit from access to better health facilities. Therefore allowing no child to have to be born in a field or any other place that is available for the mother.

The massive inequality between men and women in Kenya allows for women to be deprived of education, causing issues concerning women and health care. Kenyan women are being stripped of their voice and rights.  If women continue to suffer and die, Kenya will lose half of the potential contributions that its citizens can provide to the country.

Work Cited:

Gibendi, Ramenya. "UN Survey to Reveal Kenya's Economic Inequalities." - Business. Daily Nation, 15 Dec. 2014. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

FSD. "Gender Equity Issues in Kenya." Gender Equity Issues in Kenya. Foundation for Sustainable Development, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. 

CIA World Factbook. "Kenya." Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. 

 UNICEF. "Statistics." UNICEF. UNICEF, 27 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

Hanstad, Tim. "A Dark Day for Kenyan Women: Why Kenya Must Not Pass Its Revised Marriage Property Bill." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Feb. 2014