Kenyan Families Cut Poverty with Better Communication Between Women and Men

Counties across Kenya have been fighting traditional gender restrictions, encouraging equality, boosting economy and reducing climate impacts thanks to a learning system encouraging men to wash dishes and women to manage finances.

The nation – where families endure major gender inequality, thus trapping themselves in poverty – is going through drastic social changes with the help of GALS, or Gender Action Learning System.

GALS addresses women’s rights and gender equality in civil society, promoting better communication between men and women with an aim to reduce domestic violence, improve property rights, and find an equal voice when it comes to decision making. GALS first took off in settings in Latin America, Asia, and parts of Africa – and now, it’s made its way to Kenya.

“We have embraced dialogue in the family since learning of GALS. Initially I used to think as an individual, but today I think as a family member and this has sharpened my planning skills,” says Albert Thirika from Tharaka Nithi County, who has given some of his family farmland to his two daughters – a once unthinkable act – as well as two sons, allowing them to choose what they prefer.