“My name is Saba Gebre Medhin. I was born and raised in Addis Ababa by a strong single mother in a family of three girls and one boy, hence knowing that a woman is as strong as a man. I went to a private girls’ school, and I never understood the difference, the patriarchy. At a younger age, I was known for asking the ‘why?’ including for people’s right being violated."

UN Women and OHCHR have been working with duty bearers, since 2019, to strengthen capacities of various institutions; working with rights holders to enhance their capacity and participation in VAWE prevention and response; and strengthening coordination and collaboration between duty bearers and rights holders at the county and sub-county levels.

UN Women under the Young Women and Leadership Project (YWLP) implemented in partnership with FOWODE. From the training, she got to understand issues of gender equality and the equal roles men and women have to play towards achieving peace and development.

In the words of Beatrice Sisina Shanka, a 26-year-old community activist from the Inkinyie community. She works for Il’laramatak Community Concerns (ICC), a non-governmental organization that addresses human rights and development concerns of pastoralist (nomadic livestock herding) indigenous peoples of Kenya, with a focus on women and girls.