Mombasa: The Collaboration of Women in Development (CWID), a public benefit organization, is intensifying its advocacy efforts to combat entrenched corruption at the grassroots level through feminist networks. Speaking in Mombasa during a three-day workshop convened by the Global Fund for Women, with participants from Syria, Uganda, Kenya, Nepal, Armenia, Guatemala, and Mexico, the CWID Executive Director, Betty Sharon, highlighted the importance of training and exchange learning programs aimed at effectively dealing with corruption.
According to Kenya News Agency, Ms. Sharon explained that the participants are eager to understand how corruption impacts their organizations in their respective countries and how they can best combat it through the exchange of best practices and leveraging grassroots feminist networks. She emphasized the often-overlooked issue of corruption at lower societal levels, where individuals unknowingly support corrupt systems, thereby reinforcing them.
Ms. Sharon stressed the importance of targeting grassroots corruption as it predominantly affects common citizens, especially women, who are disproportionately impacted by both corruption and sexual violence. She noted that many reports of sexual and gender-based violence are dismissed or fail to reach court due to pervasive corruption within systems meant to protect victims.
Rula Asad, Executive Director and co-founder of the Syrian Female Journalists Network, described the workshop as insightful, noting the various approaches countries are taking to tackle corruption from a feminist perspective, focusing on marginalized community groups.
According to the 2023 National Ethics and Corruption Survey conducted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), a significant 57.3% of respondents perceived the level of corruption in Kenya as high, with 24.7% attributing this to the rising cost of living. Furthermore, 44.7% of respondents believed corruption is increasing due to factors such as high living costs, more reported cases, and insufficient action to curb corruption.
The survey identified key government institutions and departments, such as the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works, as areas where corruption is most prevalent. At the county level, County Health Services, County Transport, and Trade Development and Regulation were noted as the most susceptible to corrupt practices.
