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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


THE DIGNITY OF THE AFRICAN WOMAN
DR. MARGARET OGOLA ,KENYA


Chair Lady Mama Mongella,
Your Excellencies,
Honourable Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

My name is Dr. Margaret Ogola, I am a paediatrician and 
the director a hospice for HIV and AIDS orphans. I am also Vice-
President of Family Life Counselling (Kenya). I am a published author of 
a book." The River And The Source", which recently won the Africa region 
Commonwealth Award for Literature. It deals with the story of four 
generations of African women. 

It is an honour and a privilege for me to get this brief opportunity to 
address this august gathering who are here to deliberate upon a subject, 
which is dear to my heart- The empowerment of the woman. 

The woman is the heart of the family, and the family is the corner stone 
of society, therefore it is very fitting that we should be here in 
Beijing for the Fourth World Women's Conference seeking new ways to 
enhance her well being, natural talents and gifts. 

The woman is a powerhouse of creativity, development and peace. Conflict 
between men and women is therefore unnecessary because a woman brings an 
equal and powerful complementarity to the common human condition. Women 
have been entrusted with the capacity to transmit life which is the most 
precious gift that any body can give or receive. Without life no other 
good is possible. 

1. Let us realise that men and women share one world. Equality must not 
be seen to deny anyone of their rightful due . Indeed equality would be 
self defeating if it were based on injustice. Injustice cannot be 
corrected by another injustice. I personally would lay down my life for 
each and every one of my children- Three sons and two daughters. 

2. We must not allow women's health needs to be torpedoed by other 
peoples agendas. All our African delegates here and our people know that 
our health systems have deteriorated alarmingly under the weight of 
Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAP's), and the eternal burden of 
foreign debt. The priorities for the African woman and her family are 
therefore: 

a. The strengthening of the health care systems by making them 
effective, affordable, and accessible to all women and the African 
population as a whole. 

b. The training of traditional mid-wives should be re-introduced and 
strengthened as they deliver 80% of the women in Africa 

c. Investment in the training of middle level health care providers who 
can reach more women at the grass-roots level 

d. Ensure the availability of cheap and safe methods of child spacing 
such as Natural Family Planning which has been recognised and 
recommended by WHO and reputable medical journals such as the British 
Medical Journal and Lancet as having 98% effectiveness and being totally 
safe.

e. I am distressed that there seems to be a conspiracy to keep women in 
the dark, especially the African woman ,regarding the many dangerous 
side-effects of contraceptives, some of which are irreversible and life 
threatening. I especially abhor the experimentation and dumping of 
untested and harmful drugs in Africa and other developing countries 

f. Recognise fully the irreplaceable role of parents and the family in 
educating and in forming children in matters of sexuality, with 
recognition of and with full respect for African culture and religious 
beliefs. While recognising that there are some undesirable aspects of 
our indigenous cultures, we must not abandon it whole sale in preference 
for imported Western values as contained in the document, which are 
unclear about important issues like family and gender. Family is the 
corner stone of our societies and culture, and the source of our 
strength. 

g. Ensure the urgent provision and strengthening of quality basic and 
secondary education, middle level professional and vocational facilities 
to make education accessible and affordable to all, as education is a 
basic human right. 

Unless we recognise that each individual is irrepeatable and valuable by 
virtue of simply being conceived human, we cannot begin to talk about 
human rights. This includes the right to be born, as all of us have 
enjoyed. True justice should be for each human being, visible and 
invisible, young and old, disabled and able, to enjoy fully their right 
to life. The accidental attributes that we acquire such as colour, sex 
intelligence, economic circumstances, physical or mental disability 
should not be used as an excuse to deprive a person of life. 

In ending I would like to give my accolade to the undefeatable spirit of 
African women which I have dealt with extensively in my book. The 
inspiration for this book came from my mother who handed down to me the 
wisdom and lives of her own mother and grandmother. This strength and 
support that is found in the African family is the most important part 
of our culture, and should be preserved and nurtured at all costs.