Kenyan lawmaker to be named "UN in Kenya Person of the Year"

Kenyan lawmaker Njoki Ndungu is set to be named "United Nations in Kenya Person of the Year", United Nations Office in Nairobi said in statement on Saturday.

The statement said that Ndungu, a Kenyan women's rights activist, will be named on Monday by UN agencies based in the east African nation as 2006 "United Nations in Kenya Person of the Year".

"Njoki Ndungu, against vehement opposition, spearheaded and pushed for the adoption of the 2006 Sexual Offenses Bill by the Kenyan Parliament, making her a household name. It marked the culmination of over a decade of campaigning on gender concerns, women's and girls' rights, and sexual violence," the statement said.

Ndungu, who was nominated into the Kenyan parliament in 2003, has consistently spoken out against discrimination and exploitation particularly of young women and girls.

She repeatedly mobilized fellow women parliamentarians and civil society to demand better protection against sexual violence for girls, boys and women.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Kenya's Representative Kemal Mustafa said: "Njoki Ndungus selection for her work on pushing through the Sexual Offenses Act, which she launched as a Private Member's Bill, is further recognition of the importance the UN pays to eliminating Gender-based Violence (GBV) in Kenya. Unless efforts to combat GBV are given the support they need, our attempts to reduce HIV prevalence and achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Kenya will be seriously threatened."

Ndungu will be honored at a special ceremony on Oct. 23 at the United Nations complex located in Nairobi.

This is the fifth time the UN family in Kenya has collectively honored an individual as part of its celebrations of UN Day, which is Oct. 24.

The "United Nations in Kenya Person of the Year" is chosen based on their personal commitment towards achieving the MDGs.

Source: Xinhua