Deputy President, William Ruto, has made seven pledges to women including free diapers for newborn babies for a period of three months in the event he wins the August 9 polls.
Speaking at the Kenya Kwanza women forum on Friday, June 10, the DP promised to establish a Ksh50 billion fund that will offer credit to women in business.
He added that his administration will create a procurement portal that will ensure that all women automatically qualify for funding.
"I commit to actualise access to government procurement opportunities by ensuring that women-owned enterprises will automatically qualify for financing through the hustler fund," he stated.
Under the governance pillar, the DP reiterated that his Cabinet will be made of 50 per cent women.
Further, he promised to ensure that the two-thirds gender rule is implemented in the first three months of his administration even as he stated that all government appointments will follow the gender law.
The Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate also promised that he will develop a program that will see teenage mothers return to school. He pledged double funding for school feeding programs to encourage student intake.
Other promises in the education sector include free sanitary towels for all girls and bursaries for girls taking science related courses in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
In a bid to end Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the DP assured that his administration will set up a women's rights agency under his office to protect women in the country.
Additionally, he stated that the agency will take charge of women's right issues for domestic workers in the Middle East who experience mistreatment by their employers.
Under the health pillar, Ruto offered that he will create a health care program by December to offer health insurance to all the mothers in the country.
He also stated that his administration will ensure that the cost of cooking gas reduces to eliminate the use of charcoal.
Further, Ruto stated that all land transactions will have to be consented to by women in order to cushion families from losing their land.
"We are going to work with Parliament so that we make any activity by any public official that is done to aid any transfer of land without the requisite consent of either the man, wife, or children punishable," he stated.
