CS Amina appoints committee to probe gender welfare in sports

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed has constituted a nine-member ministerial committee on gender welfare in sports and instructed all sports bodies to ensure that representation at the management level complies with the constitutional gender parity principle of two thirds.

The committee will be chaired by former two-time marathon world champion Catherine Ndereba, while Sports Registrar Rose Wasike will serve as it’s administrator for the one month it is expected to undertake it’s work and hand over a report to the CS.

Other members of the committee are medic Kizzie Shako, Hibbo Hussein, handball coach Catherine Mabwi and Linda Ndiwa. Paul Ochieng, Ibrahim Hussein and Ted Kwaka are also part of the team that will be housed at the Kasarani Stadium.

The decision follows growing concerns over how women were being treated in sports, including active athletes and players.

The basketball fraternity is the latest to lament alleged mistreatment of women players and possible sexual harassment.

“All Sports Organisations and Federations registered with the Ministry shall ensure that women are represented in management and, that the constitutional threshold of two thirds gender representation is upheld,” CS Amina said in a statement.

“As a matter of Practice, they shall also endeavour to maintain a 50:50 men to women representation in Management and all other administrative operations.”

The CS has also warned that federations which do not adhere to the gender parity and non-discrimination principle will not be eligible for government funding.

She has warned federations that will fail to report cases of defiance to this directive that they will be deregistered.

Meanwhile, the CS has directed that no women teams will leave the country for any competition or participate in internal competitions without being accompanied by at least two women officials, a doctor and a team welfare officer.