My name is Rukia Ahmed indigenous community of women living with HIV in Kenya-Africa

Madam Rukia Ahmed is a Kenyan feminist activist. I am active member of the society for AIDS in Africa, Africa women living with HIV in Northern Kenya and NEPHAK member in her community volunteer work; she finds the natural flow between creativity and activism. Rukia is a curator and creative who strive to bring together indigenous Muslim people and ideas to create positive change. Through actively supporting transformational work from an activists, and organizations that strengthen social change, Rukia is focused on helping to build more indigenous community and women living with HIV equal right, community healthcare providers, nonprofits and community organizations must work together to improve integration and coordination of efforts from the national to the community level.

Rukia Ahmed is a widow lives in moyale-kenya with her children. Her passion is community volunteer work for indigenous community -led groups, at grassroots travelling, learning about new cultures and mentoring others to achieve their career aspirations.

She is a the first Muslim indigenous championing women’s leadership to end AIDS award on 12th October 2011 and 5th may 2016 Nomination to KASF meaning involvement of people living with HIV (MIPA) working group, founding member and coordinator of indigenous community of Muslim women living with in Kenya an organization that aims to strengthen the capacity of adult feminist organizations around the world through small work. Previously, Rukia was the chairperson of Muslim women network foundation (The foundation for Indigenous Muslim Women’s Rights in Development). She has worked with a diverse range of clients including governments, national NGOs, community-led groups, and individual northern Kenya region.

 We need to keep on pushing boundaries in order to realise full inclusion of all Kenyans in the universal health coverage. We do this through the creation of awareness of their rights, cultural, social inclusion, socio-economic opportunities and empowerment, provision of changing and general management of their health. If we can give each one of us equal opportunities, we shall be able to make positive progress as a nation. We may not all be equally talented but each one of us, despite their physical, biological or other attributes, they too have something valuable to contribute and We have had exchange visits from other 47 county

Niko Na Haki (Awareness Campaign)

Niko na haki is a campaign where we visit different parts of the country to raise awareness and educate the communities on matters concerning indigenous community of Muslim women living with HIV in Kenya 

We strongly believe that this an opportunity for integrating Strengthening community-driven responses on

SAFEGUARDING THE DIGNITY OF THE GIRL CHILD BY ENDING PERIOD POVERTY

Introduction

Poverty

Poverty is an overarching factor that increases vulnerability to, and the impact of, HIV.

The poorest women may have little choice but to adopt behaviours that put them at risk of infection, including transactional and intergenerational sex, early marriage, and relationships that expose them to violence and abuse. Poorer and less-educated women may be less knowledgeable about risks and therefore less able to adopt HIV risk-reducing behaviours.

The risk of trafficking and sexual exploitation is also higher for young indigenous women and adolescent girls, especially those living in poverty

Period poverty affects women and girls all over the world as they are unable to access sanitary products, safe hygienic spaces in which to use them and the right to manage menstruation without shame or stigma. This not only poses a health risk to women and girls affected but also education and their wellbeing.  One in four girls or women is affected by period poverty and is unable to afford sanitary products. Girls particularly in the globe drop out or have inconsistent schooling due to the lack of sanitary towels and shame associated with being on their periods. 

In Kenya, over 900,000 girls miss up to 4 days of school when they are on their menstrual cycle. This is due to lack of access to health products to manage their periods. Despite sanitary pads not being taxed, they still remain to be a luxury item to a lot of these girls. The girls at this stage already are affected by many factors associated with transition to puberty that expose them to vulnerability. For instance, period shame of a 14 year old girl led to her committing suicide which is a loss for the country and also a possible threat where other girls in her shoes or worse may emulate the same to free themselves from the pressure and shame associated with period poverty. It is therefore important to empower these young girls by educating them on the transition, puberty, period health, self-esteem and well-being.