Coastal women seek stronger voice in peace and security ahead of 2027
Coast women in peace and security
By Caroline Katana.
Women leaders and community peace actors from Kilifi, Mombasa and Kwale are seeking a bigger role in preventing conflict and shaping peace and security decisions as the country approaches the 2027 General Election.
They say women are often among the first to feel the effects of violence but remain underrepresented in structures where decisions on community security are made.
The concerns emerged during a three-day leadership and peace and security training held in Mombasa, organised by the Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE) under its Imarisha project known as Strengthening Women’s Leadership and Voices for Peace and Security on the Coast.
The project is supported by the Danish Embassy in Kenya through Act Change Transform, with KECOSCE implementing activities in Kilifi, Mombasa and Kwale.
The training equipped participants with skills in mediation, leadership, accountability, conflict prevention, protection and digital safety.
For Kilifi-based gender rights activist Lilian Wambui Karuga, strengthening women's participation begins with giving them the confidence to enter spaces where community decisions are made.
Karuga, from Tetea Jamii Social Justice Center, said women should not wait to be invited into leadership.
She encouraged women to seek positions of influence at the grassroots and urged them to support girls to pursue leadership opportunities.
“We need to sit with women and encourage them to occupy those spaces,” she said.
But she warned that the people supporting survivors can also become affected by the traumatic experiences they encounter.
Activists and community workers who repeatedly handle cases involving sexual violence, defilement and other forms of abuse, she said, need opportunities to deal with the emotional burden that comes with their work.
“You cannot go and deal with the community when you yourself are not okay mentally,” she said.
In Mombasa, Miriam Kimemia said the training had changed her understanding of community mediation.
She said participants were taught to allow parties in a dispute to explain themselves rather than immediately deciding who was responsible for a conflict.
The approach, she said, can help prevent community mediators from escalating disputes through premature judgments.
Kimemia also highlighted the importance of referring complicated cases to the appropriate institutions, particularly when dealing with gender-based violence.
She said taking responsibility for every case can expose community workers to unnecessary emotional strain.
“Do not take the case as if it is yours alone. Refer cases,” she said.
With political activity expected to intensify ahead of 2027, Kimemia said women have a responsibility to engage young people who may be vulnerable to political manipulation.
She said young people should be encouraged to become agents of peace instead of being mobilised to participate in violence.
“We are going to sit with those young people who are being used as pressure groups by politicians,” she said.
In Kwale, Bebi Hamisi, chairlady of the Peace and Security Committee in Matuga Sub-County, said women still have limited representation in community peace and security structures.
She said the training had given her additional knowledge that she intends to use to mobilise more women into these structures.
Hamisi said women's participation should be strengthened from the location level upwards, particularly in areas dealing with conflict prevention and protection.
“We need to strengthen those committees from the location level upwards and empower and educate women,” she said.
She urged women to take a leading role in promoting peaceful political engagement as the country heads towards the elections.
Hamisi said women should discourage political insults and inflammatory exchanges while encouraging communities to participate in politics peacefully.
She added that peace actors in Matuga have already started engaging chiefs, assistant chiefs and communities on the risks facing young people.
Parents are also being brought into the discussions, particularly where young people are already involved in gangs, she said.
According to Fauzia Kassim, who manages the Imarisha project at KECOSCE, the training is intended to turn women's community influence into stronger leadership and decision-making capacity.
She said participants were equipped with practical skills that can help them engage in governance, mediate disputes and hold leaders accountable.
As the 2027 elections approach, Kassim said the women can contribute in different ways, including civic education, voting, community leadership and seeking elective positions.
She said stronger leadership skills would enable women to raise issues affecting women and girls and demand action from leaders.
Kassim also stressed that involving women does not mean excluding men from peace and security initiatives.
She said Imarisha has a Male Engagement component designed to encourage men to support women's participation and leadership in peace-building.
“Peace and security cannot happen without involving men,” she said.
The training also turned attention to the growing risks associated with technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
Kassim said women, girls and men need greater awareness of online abuse and how to make digital spaces safer.
She noted that violence can move from online platforms into physical spaces, making it important for communities to recognise warning signs and respond early.
Another area highlighted was grassroots conflict resolution, which Kassim said has traditionally been dominated by men.
She said women who have undergone mediation training should be given opportunities to apply their skills in resolving disputes within their communities.
For the participants, the training was therefore more than an opportunity to acquire new skills.
It was a call for women to move from the margins of peace and security decision-making to the centre of community action.
As Kenya heads towards the 2027 elections, women from the three Coast counties say they are ready to use their influence within families, communities and leadership structures to identify tensions early, protect vulnerable groups, engage young people and promote peaceful political participation.
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