GBV a threat to performance, decries Tergat as NOC-K Gender Conference kicks off

The first day of the Inaugural National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) Gender Conference 2025 got underway at the Pullman Hotel in Nairobi's Upper Hill on Tuesday.

Themed; "Disrupting and Redefining Gender Narratives," the two-day event graced by NOC-K members, industry women leaders, gender allies and stakeholders, brought together players from all sorts of places, including Uganda and Rwanda representatives. 

NOC-K President Paul Tergat's address provided context on the progress of the country's bid to achieve gender balance within sports, the committee itself and the athletes who make the cut for the Olympic teams.

Tergat hailed the growth in the number of women who had represented the country dating back to the famed 23rd Olympic Games held in Atlanta in 1996 when he first debuted in the competition and has seen the rise from a mere 34 per cent to the now 50-50 parity achieved in the recent Paris Olympics. 

"I remember even during my time, the percentage of women also competing or participating competitively was so low, now as we speak, it is 50-50; that is a remarkable stride we have achieved, so the only thing I want to encourage is sports is where we leverage our potentials to each and everyone.”

Tergat provided context for the inaugural conference, acknowledging the role of female athletes in sports and the challenges that they go through as they juggle, including the condemned Gender Violence, acknowledging that such obstacles hinder the peak performance of athletes. 

  " Our women athletes do so much, and they are the ones giving us more medals than before, but behind the scenes, there are also many challenges that they go through, and I believe having this gender conference in sports is a key point that we can be able now to articulate and be able to identify with what they are going through this gender-based violence is unacceptable in humanity.

“We believe that most athletes and sportspersons should be able to do what they do without fear when they return home."

The keynote speaker, Professor Olive Mugenda, in her maiden address, highlighted the role of sports in the development of a nation, commending the aforementioned Tergat for his role in bridging the disparity gap during his tenure as President of the Olympic committee.

The former Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor listed discipline, perseverance, being intentional, and having a purpose and vision, amongst other notables from her speech.

She challenged the Olympic Committee to address the issues that affect women such as the opportunities and even support for the female athletes in terms of compensation and even in motherhood. 

"My main message to the committee is to address the issues that affect women in sports in terms of opportunities that they get, compensation, support because a lot of them are also mothers and are also pursuing other careers, do they get support and especially the issues of gender based violence and come up with policies to protect them."

Reliving her famed tenure as the VC of the university, where she had overseen the complete overhaul of the university from its management to facilities and even student population, she advised the women athletes to embrace challenges in their quest to redefine the gender narrative. She advised on the role of men in ensuring that the disparity is bridged. 

"I also sold to my team the idea of building a hospital, which we built with government support, and now we have one of the best hospitals, especially for cancer and heart treatment in Kenya, so you can see the power of vision and not just vision but hard work, " she narrated to the filled conference room.

Professor Mugenda, who was the first woman to be elected VC of a public university, challenged her audience to keep on working on challenging the traditional status quo and not be deterred by the challenges that might come their way as she faced them too while the helm of the university in her heydays as she purposed to make the university a reputable institution like it is now.

She further gave insights on household names such as Catherine Ndereba, Serena Williams, and Simon Biles, just to name but a few of the athletes who have made comebacks from setbacks faced adversities, lived true to their mantras and kept the hard work and discipline in order to achieve the status they have gained in their societies. 

The Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo, who was also in attendance, decried the need for deliberate actions in combating the situation at hand, including the gender-based violence situation that has rocked the country in the recent past.

The LSK President, who has been vocal about issues such as gender violence and disparity, lauded the committee`s commitment to ensure parity but acknowledged the need for more incentives to balance the proportions.

"We`ve seen big conferences being done talking about gender-based violence, but what we need to see is tangible deliberate action being taken by those holding those current offices," she said.

The conference continues tomorrow as a forum for athletes and stakeholders to engage in bridging the gaps between genders, share insights on the best ways to tackle it and analyse the strides made so far in the efforts to continue breaking barriers, redefining the narratives for which some norms had existed.