Assistant Minister, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development.

Today as we celebrate this special Day, I wish congratulate the women of Kenya for the milestone the have made towards socio-economic development of our nation. Women as you all know play an integral part in our economy; they form the larger percentage in the agricultural sector which is the country’s economic mainstay.
As we endeavour to enhance their socio-economic status, it is imperative that we address some of issues impeding their progress. Some of the impediments to their progress include high poverty and illiteracy levels and retrogressive cultural practice. 
In an effort to address some of these issues, the government has put place measures that include free primary education that will ensure high enrollment for the girls, retention and completion of education. In respect to this, I am happy to note that the Ministry of Education has developed a Gender Education Policy to address inequalities such as lower cut-off points for the girls in universities, re-entry policy that enables girls to return to school after giving birth, and bursaries for tertiary level.
I urge parents to maximize on the good policies that the government has provided to facilitate the education of the girl child, and take their girls to school, for if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.
The theme of this year, “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All”, is therefore befitting as we all strive to empower the Kenyan women for gender equality and hence progress.
May I take this opportunity to wish all the women of Kenya, a happy women’s day!