Women’s Conference at the Kenya School of Government

I had the pleasure to close the Women’s Conference at the Kenya School of Government this afternoon on the theme: BRIDGING GENERATIONS: ADVANCING GENDER, HARNESSING INNOVATION. I noted that, as the digital age advances and we embrace AI and other technologies, we must be wary of the digital divide, which has emerged as a new frontier of exclusion and injustice.

While innovation holds immense promise, women and girls are significantly underrepresented in technology creation and governance as well as being at greater risk of cyber bullying, harassment, and digital violence. We must treat digital exclusion and online violence as justice issues — because exclusion from technology is exclusion from economic power, political influence, and civic participation. Ensuring safe, inclusive, and equitable digital spaces is part of the broader justice agenda that guarantees women and girls their full rights in the modern world.

The Chief Justice reminded that the Constitution of Kenya envisions a society based on human dignity, equality, and social justice. Gender equality is not a side agenda — it is a constitutional demand and a moral obligation for every institution and citizen. The justice sector, from law enforcement to the courts, has a responsibility to actively dismantle systemic barriers to gender equality and ensure that the promise of justice for all becomes a lived reality for women and girls.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day tomorrow, let us remember that justice and gender equality are indivisible. You cannot have one without the other. Every legal reform, every technological innovation, every leadership opportunity opened to a woman is a building block in the edifice of justice — a justice that does not merely correct past wrongs, but prevents future injustices.