Will the Voices of Women and Girls Be Heard at UNGA 79?

angelanguku·September 20, 2024·0 comments

Will the Voices of Women and Girls Be Heard at UNGA 79?

Stories

The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) will begin this September, with world leaders gathering in New York to discuss pressing global issues. But the question remains: will the voices of women and girls be heard? Will their challenges be represented, and will their demands finally take centre stage?

Leaders have gathered in conference halls for too long, discussing these pressing global challenges but often neglecting the urgent demands of women and girls. Critical topics: quality care, women’s economic power, access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) which directly impact maternal and newborn health, remain on the sidelines of these global conversations. The theme for UNGA79, “Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable
Development, and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations,” is ambitious. White Ribbon Alliance Kenya (WRA Kenya), working to influence SDGs 3 and 5 directly asks; how can we truly leave no one behind if the voices of women and girls continue to be ignored?

Minimal Progress on Maternal and Newborn Health

Despite reaching the midpoint of the SDG era, the progress reports for maternal and newborn health—particularly the Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) — show minimal advancement. Alarming statistics reveal that every minute globally, a woman dies from childbirth, contributing to an estimated 6,500 maternal deaths annually in Kenya, which equates to 17 deaths every day. These figures underscore the urgency of addressing maternal health crises more comprehensively.

Over 1.5 million women, girls and health care workers across Kenya have voiced their concerns through the unprecedented What Women Want (WWW) campaign that began in 2018, expressing their urgent demands for better maternal and newborn healthcare. These , voices seek to be heard at UNGA79, and their needs and demands must take centre stage in the global conversation!

Calling for Accountability: Real Voices from the Frontlines

As UNGA79 progresses, world leaders must listen to the real-life struggles of women like Stella Nasimiyu, Pauline Mukhaweso, Harriet Mmbone, and Rehema Dida, who advocate for basic rights and essential services that should already be available. These women are not mere statistics; their voices and faces demand action.

 

 

Stella Nasimiyu, from rural Bungoma, requests a simple yet essential item: a mosquito net. Living in a malaria-prevalent area, Stella knows that this net could protect both her and her unborn child from Malaria.

 

 

Harriet Mmbone, a young mother living in an informal settlement in Nairobi county, is fighting for access to clean, safe, and reliable water. Every day, she buys water in jerry cans from the local water vendors. She cannot ascertain the safety of the water, for her and her child.

 

 

Rehema Dida, from a remote village in Isiolo County, calls for the construction of a hospital in her community. Walking 24 kilometers to the nearest health facility is both exhausting and dangerous. Rehema advocates for accessible healthcare services in underserved areas.

 

 

Eunice Mayisu, from Kajiado County, demands the inclusion of language translators in health facilities. As a hospital cashier, Eunice knows how language barriers prevent women, particularly the elderly, from receiving proper care. She demands that translators be available to ensure all women understand the care they receive.

 

 

Pauline Mukhaweso, from Bungoma County, demands respect from healthcare workers. Having experienced mistreatment during her previous births, Mary now understands through WRA Kenya’s Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) training that she has a right to dignified care. She is determined to ensure this right is honoured.

 

 

 

Jacinta Mbithe, living in Mukuru Kwa Njenga in Nairobis’ informal settlements, calls for clean and free toilets. In informal settlements, many women must pay to use toilets, but when there is no money, they face tough choices between health and their dignity. This is in addition to poor waste disposal leading to environmental degradation and disease transmission.

 

These women’s stories reflect the struggles faced by millions of women and girls across Kenya and globally. This year, their demands should resonate at UNGA79, ensuring that their voices are heard.

Their Faces Will Be Seen, Their Voices Heard

At WRA Kenya, we do not speak for women; we let them speak for themselves. This year at UNGA79, the conversation must change to reflect What Women Demand. Women have refused to be excluded and are declaring that they will be part of the discussion. As leaders discuss and decide, women will be watching closely to see that their demands are heard and included in the conversations, demanding that maternal and newborn health challenges are addressed and especially the pressing issues around quality, equity, and dignity.

Through portraits taken across Kenya, the stories of these women will reach the UNGA79 stage. Their faces will be seen, their voices heard, and their struggles and demands visually represented for the world to witness.

A Call for Global Action

As global leaders gather in New York, White Ribbon Alliance Kenya calls for them to listen. The world can no longer ignore the pressing challenges faced by women and newborns. The time has come to move beyond discussion and make a tangible resolve, meaningful, concrete action.

Will they be heard? Will you listen and act?

angelanguku

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Wra Kenya

White Ribbon Alliance Kenya (WRA Kenya) is a people-led movement for reproductive, maternal, and newborn health and rights. We advocate for women’s and girls’ voices and demands to lead change at the local, national, and regional levels and contribute to shaping the global reproductive, maternal, and newborn health (RMNH) agenda.

 

Re-Igniting the Inherent Power in Women and Girls through Advocacy and Action

We deeply believe in advancing the self-articulated needs of women and girls through advocacy to shape policies, programming approaches and strategies. This is aimed at amplifying women, girls and newborn’s voices, and agency, to actively participate in decision-making processes in public, private and civic spheres. We provide our action networks with the right tools, and trainings, to broaden the reach and efforts and realize a lasting change.

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Portfolio

I am Angela Nguku, a midwife, an ICF certified leadership and mindset coach, an advocate, an author, and a movement builder who turned silence into action.

I founded White Ribbon Alliance Kenya to center the voices of over 3.5 million women and girls who have boldly told us what they need for quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn health and wellbeing. We are not just documenting their needs. We are acting with them to address the intersecting issues that go beyond health. These include access to economic power, education, information, clean water, sanitation, dignity in care, among others.

I also founded AudaciousHer, a coaching and leadership platform for women and girls who are done shrinking to fit into broken systems. Through mindset coaching, storytelling, and bold spaces, we support them to reclaim voice, unlearn silence, and lead from a place of truth.

A powerful part of this work is coaching African frontliners — the community midwives, justice defenders, grassroots organizers, and policy disruptors who carry entire systems on their backs while navigating burnout, backlash, and broken institutions. They are the shiftmakers. AudaciousHer provides them with space to breathe, reflect, and lead differently, not just as responders, but as visionaries shaping new futures.

I’ve stood in delivery rooms where dignity was missing. I’ve sat with mothers who’ve buried their dreams and their children. I’ve walked into rooms where inclusion was just performance, not power-sharing. But I also do this work because I’ve seen what happens when a woman is truly listened to. She doesn’t just speak. She moves systems.

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AUDACIOUSHER

For African Women and Girls Who Lead Without Permission

Our Story

I know what it feels like to grow up silenced, taught to keep quiet, defer, and disappear. But silence doesn’t keep us safe. It keeps us small. Across Kenya and Africa, too many women and girls are still raised in that silence. Only 15 percent of girls in Kenya feel confident speaking in public or participating in decisions that shape their lives. This trend mirrors a wider pattern across the continent, where cultural norms and systemic barriers continue to stifle voice and power.

I founded AudaciousHer in 2024 as a bold, African rooted coaching and leadership platform. We walk with women and girls reclaiming their voices. From adolescent mothers to midwives, movement builders to market women. Whether you’re restarting, reinventing, or rising, you’ll find truth, strategy, and sisterhood here.

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We don’t just talk growth. We walk with you through it. Mess, truth, clarity, and all.
We build spaces where bold, brave, and unstoppable women and girls rise, speak, and lead without apology.

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One on one and team coaching for women and girls holding broken systems together. This includes midwives, nurses, justice defenders, and youth advocates. Grounded in lived experience, these sessions help restore clarity, courage, and care.

Mentorship & Courage Circles

Small group coaching and safe truth telling spaces for mid career reinvention, healing, and reclaiming power. Women and girls come to reconnect with who they are. Without shrinking.

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A storytelling platform that honors real African women and girls shaping change without applause or performance. From adolescent mothers to market traders and quiet policy influencers, their stories ripple.

Early Fire

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Audacious Convenings

Because real change starts with what we are brave enough to say out loud.
We do not moderate to keep the peace. We moderate to move the room. These are not polite panels. They are bold, truth filled sessions where power is questioned, silence is named, and clarity becomes action.
Whether it is in a boardroom, a village hall, or a global summit, we hold space for what matters. We convene with purpose, ask the uncomfortable questions, and turn conversations into strategy.

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