When Women Find Their Voice, Communities Find a New Path to Peace.
By Caroline Katana
For women in Kwale, peace and security can no longer be issues discussed without them.
From the safety of their children to the problems confronting their communities, women are stepping forward to make their voices heard and to turn that voice into action.
At Kombani Social Hall in Matuga Constituency on Tuesday, women came together to discuss how they can take a stronger role in shaping safer and more peaceful communities, while challenging the fear and divisions that have kept many of them away from leadership.
The dialogue is part of a growing effort to give women not just a place in conversations on peace and security, but the confidence, knowledge and collective strength to influence what happens in their communities.
Kombani Majengo -Mapya village , vice chair Majumaa Matano Chitsange, popularly known as Idzulu , told the women that leadership begins with willingness to step forward.
“My call to women is, first, to have confidence , let women have confidence and volunteer, and not be afraid.” She emphasized.
For Chitsange, women's leadership cannot be separated from the peace of their communities because women are often the first to see what is happening inside families and among young people.
“A mother is the first teacher at home.” She said.
She urged women to use that position to identify problems early, share information and seek support rather than remain silent when they encounter any kind of trouble.
But the women also recognised that finding their voice means finding one another.
Mwanahamisi Mwamlambi , a Community Health Promoter from Bowa Matopeni, said women have agreed to extend their responsibility beyond their own households and look out for children in the wider community.
“A child belonging to one mother should be a child of another mother too.” she said.
The approach gives women a practical role in peacebuilding , listening to young people, counselling them, supporting struggling parents and intervening before problems escalate into drugs, violence or crime.
Bintihamisi Mohamed Bea said the dialogue had opened the eyes of women to the need to engage young people differently, particularly those showing signs of troubling behaviour.
She said women should consider counselling and dialogue before resorting to punishment, drawing from her own experience of helping her daughter overcome a difficult period.
Her message was that a young person can change when a parent takes time to understand the problem and offers guidance rather than simply condemning the child.
For Bea, the lesson is also about collective responsibility, mothers should share experiences and strategies so that one woman's experience can help another family facing a similar challenge.
For Gladys Sahe of Subira Village, however,said women cannot effectively protect families without addressing the challenges they face themselves.
She said single mothers in particular can struggle to provide children with education, healthcare and other basic needs.
“The challenge of raising a family can be very difficult. That is why sometimes you have to seek help from organisations so that your children can receive proper care.” She noted.
Mwanajaa Sefu of Bowa Matopeni Village said women and other parents should also be willing to seek help for young people who have already gone astray.
She urged families to use rehabilitation and government support rather than give up on children struggling with drugs and indiscipline.
“If you believe your child can change, find whatever means possible to help that child change.” She said
But perhaps the biggest barrier the women want to overcome is not within their children.
It is fear within themselves.
Chitsange said some women are intimidated by men when they attempt to take leadership positions, while rivalry among women can further weaken their collective voice.
Her appeal was for women to replace competition with solidarity.
“Let us stop the hostility among women. If another woman has decided she can do something, support her.” she encouraged.
That spirit is at the heart of the Imarisha Project, implemented by the Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE) in Kwale, Mombasa and Kilifi counties.
The 28-month project, running from June 2026 to 2028, is focused on strengthening women’s leadership and amplifying the voices of women in peace and security along the Coast.
The project is supported by the Danish Embassy in Kenya through Act Change transform with KECOSCE implementing in the three counties.
The women leading the peace and security community dialogues underwent a three-day training on peace and security two weeks ago under the Imarisha project.
They are now taking that knowledge beyond the training room, conducting capacity-building and dialogue activities within their villages and communities.
The aim is to create women who can speak with confidence, participate in decisions affecting their communities and mobilise others around peace and security.
In Kombani, that process is already generating demand for more conversations, with women from Kitivo and Matuga sub-location asking to be reached.
The significance of the initiative lies not simply in the number of women attending dialogues, but in what happens after they leave.
A woman who once feared speaking can begin speaking.
A woman who once watched a problem can intervene.
A woman who once stood alone can organise others.
And a woman who once saw leadership as a man's space can begin to claim her place in it.
That is the promise behind the push to strengthen women's voices for peace and security on the Coast - not speaking for women, but creating the space and confidence for women to speak for themselves and to shape the communities they want to live in.
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