Empowered Women Empower Women: The Making of A Champion for Male Engagement and Advocate for Rural Women and African Girls

 "Many of those we worked with for these changes are not here and I have the privilege of being here to pass on those lessons" Hon Rebecca Mwicigi. 

As Mrs. Rebecca Mwicigi (now Hon. Rebecca Mwicigi) prepared to travel to Beijing, China for The Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995, she could hardly have imagined that 30 years later, women across the globe, including in Africa, would have achieved so much. 

At the time of the Conference—the most important one on women's rights up to that time—it was uncommon for many girls in the region to achieve their dreams for basic, let alone higher, education much less for women to hold positions of public leadership. 

Now, in 2025, there is clear progress towards equality on many fronts. The gender divide in primary education is minimal and girls’ enrollment rates in secondary and tertiary education have visibly increased. Women’s representation in politics has been on the rise since the early 2000s with southern Africa displaying the highest proportion of women in single/lower houses on the continent (nearly one-third or 32%) and women comprising 61 per cent of Rwanda's parliament, the highest globally. Maternal mortality rates have dropped significantly, nearly halving in sub-Saharan Africa, with a 45 per cent decline from 1990 to 2015. 

In 1995, Hon. Rebecca Mwicigi was one of a growing number of gender equality advocates in Kenya and the region. She had gained a reputation for being a change-maker both at the grassroots and board levels and built a name for charting new territories for rural woman and families in her home area of what is now Murang'a County in central Kenya. 

Her humble beginnings in the rolling hillsides of what was then Kandara Constituency played a big role in her passion for the empowerment of rural women and African girls. 

"Growing up, I saw first-hand the power of a woman's voice and her role in leadership," said Hon. R. Mwicigi. 

Her mother, Priscilla Wambui Thiong'o, was the first woman councillor of the Murang'a African District Council (known as Fort Hall in newly independent Kenya). On his part, her father, John Thiong'o, embodied a pro-women and girls empowering figure that few African girls raised in the 1950s and 1960s could relate to. 

"I never felt discriminated against at home and only realized when I was a young adult just how unusual that was, especially for that time," said Hon. R. Mwicigi. 

"My dad was very keen on me getting a good education and also excelling in everything I possibly could," she said. 

By the time of the Beijing Conference, with the support of her now-late husband, Hon. George Mwicigi who served for multiple terms as a Member of Parliament for Kandara Constituency, Hon. R. Mwicigi had spotted a niche in French bean farming in the area. She enrolled for training on French bean farming and established herself as a commercial farmer with an export market. 

As her husband late Hon. G. Mwicigi focused on agricultural improvements and providing clean water to the constituency, an extremely scarce commodity here at the time, Hon. R. Mwicigi saw an opportunity to help turn Kandara (Constituency, now Kandara and Gatanga) green and eradicate poverty. 

"By this time, I had acquired good experience and contacts for horticultural exports to Europe. I felt empowered and so I wanted to empower others," said Hon. R. Mwicigi. 

There was no stopping her. 

First, she helped women to secure land to farm. This was a significant challenge given that at that time, women's ownership of and access to land was even more limited than it is today. Disproportionate access to and ownership of land still hinders women’s ability to earn from farming despite them shouldering the brunt of farm work. 

Under an innovative initiative she dubbed ‘Mashamba Go Green’, Hon. R. Mwicigi began breaching the subject and negotiating with men in her home area to assign their wives a small portion of the farms—half or at least a quarter of an acre each—to grow French beans for sale. As the idea took root, she began sharing knowledge on French bean farming with the women, going further to provide them with high-quality imported seeds to grow the beans for export. 

She didn't stop there. Through the networks she had established, Hon. R. Mwicigi identified markets in Europe for the women's produce. Under Jambo Horticultural Exporters, one of her enterprises, she went further to negotiate with airlines for more cargo space, in essence, providing the women farmers with farm to market support for the French bean value chain.

 Before long, demand for the premium produce outstripped supply. Hon. R. Mwicigi began expanding production to neighboring constituencies, including what is now Kirinyaga County, eventually helping to put Murang'a and Kirinyaga counties on the map as some of Kenya's largest French bean exporters, a role they hold to date. 

However, there were still gaps; Hon. R. Mwicigi realized that women farmers also needed support to access financial services so that they could manage their new income properly. 

"I was so proud to literally take women by the hand to open bank accounts," said Hon. R. Mwicigi. 

"Many of them could not write, so I helped them fill out the forms and sign them using their thumbprints. Those were priceless moments" she said. 

‘Mashamba Go Green’ became a poster child for women's empowerment through sustainable agribusiness at the Beijing Conference. Kenya showcased images and stories from the initiative throughout the Conference laying credence to the result of supporting women in agriculture, financial access, and economic empowerment. 

“Back home, many men confessed that the improved household earnings had helped bring peace to their homes where previously there had been violence, partly due to financial frustrations,” said Hon. R. Mwicigi. 

“I had held a number of sessions with men in the area to discuss creative ways of managing large supplementary income, such as annual bonuses from the sale of tea and coffee, to prioritize household expenses” she explained. 

“This contributed immensely to the smooth running of their homes and minimized unnecessary disagreements while still leaving room for the men to celebrate the annual bonuses in nearby towns with their peers”, said Hon. R. Mwicigi. Since the Conference, financial access for women has been on the rise with far more women independently opening bank accounts and accessing credit in most African countries. By 2025, one in three countries in East and southern Africa (ESA) had adopted strategies to ensure inclusivity in accessing financial services. 

“The key is to make commitments that are visible, measurable, and responsive to the needs of all women and girls” said Anna Mutavati, Regional Director, UN Women for East and Southern Africa.

“Countries can move their Beijing+30 commitments forward by combining strong laws, adequate funding, institutional capacity, robust data, inclusive partnerships, youth focus, and accountability,” Ms. said Mutavati. 

Since last year, in readiness for the 30th commemoration of the Beijing Conference in 2025, countries in the ESA have submitted a total of 41 cross-cutting commitments towards gender equality. Some of the most prominent commitments include increasing opportunities for youth and adolescent girls, strong emphasis on law and policy reform, increased financing for gender equality, and improving the collection of gender data.

“Although gender data is a powerful catalyst for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, resources to produce this data are often lacking,” said Isabella Schmidt, Regional Gender Statistics Advisor, UN Women for East and Southern Africa. 

In some cases, insufficient coordination among sector actors leads to gaps. This, limits evidence-based policymaking and planning as well as gender-responsive budgeting,” said Schmidt. 

Hon. R. Mwicigi is the Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of F-PEAK—the Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya, a lobby group with more than 200 member organizations. She served as Hon. Member of the County Assembly of Murang'a from 2013 – 2017 and continues to advocate for male engagement, empower women in Kenya and the region through private sector initiatives, and advocate for and support the empowerment of girls through education.