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A new policy that discourages divorce is at the centre of a storm, with civil society groups now calling for its revocation.

Human rights activists drawn from seven counties now want Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore to revoke the newly approved National Policy on Family Promotion and Protection passed by the Cabinet last month.

They are warning that it promotes abusive marriages and stigmatises divorce. According to them, the policy also negates its initial vision of creating a strong society made from happy and stable families.

Members of 36 civil society organisations have argued that the policy prioritises preventing divorce at the expense of spouses and children in abusive marriages.

“In violation of the Marriage Act, the policy discourages divorce as a valid solution and prioritises ‘protecting the union’ over protecting those in abusive marriages,” the human activists said in a joint letter delivered to CS Bore and the Council of Governors.

Additionally, the lobbyists accuse the Labour Ministry of failing to conduct adequate public participation before drafting the policy document thereby excluding the input of rural communities, cultural groups, and organisation that work with families and women who have been victims of negative socio-cultural norms.

The letter reads in part: “This document does not represent many types of families in Kenya. As polygamous families, blended families, children-free families, surrogates, families with children born out of assisted technology, families of prisoners, and single mothers, we do not see ourselves in the document nor do we see any interventions set apart by the Ministry to support our kind.”

It adds: “The policy claims to recognise the diversity of families in terms of social-cultural and religious background but elsewhere limits the definition of family to “a societal group that is related by blood (kinship), adoption, foster care or the ties of marriage” as defined by only two religions.”

They warn Bore that they would take legal action against her should she proceed to launch the document without reviewing it to include the special interests of the rural population that they represent.

A dispatch from the Presidency dated October 3, 2023 states that the cabinet considered and approved the National Policy on Family Promotion and Protection which seeks to promote inter-generational transfer of societal knowledge, norms, and taboos.

“As part of the (President William Ruto’s) Administration’s plans for transforming Kenya into an economic powerhouse, the Policy also seeks to empower families to participate in the socio-economic development of the country by addressing the loss of values, dissipating sense of civic duty, skewed work-life priorities, and the breakdown of our families and communities,” the statement read.

Controversial document

The controversial policy document was drafted in 2019 when the Labour Ministry was headed by former Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani and Nelson Marwa as the Principal Secretary.

The policy, Yatani said, would provide a framework for the implementation and monitoring of the government’s programmes to ensure that they protect and support the family unit.

“This will enable the family to play effectively, its vital role in the country’s development. It is envisaged that this Policy will facilitate the existence of an environment that will strengthen the capacity of families to enhance and support the socio-economic empowerment, nurturance, and protection of individuals and vulnerable members,” Yatani said.

“This Policy is a commitment by the Government to provide services and protection to families while according to them a conducive environment for the enjoyment of their freedoms, liberties, and pursuit of happiness.”

The Yatani draft aimed to reverse the negative effects resulting from neglect of the family unit’s contribution towards the realisation of national goals.

“This has seen the rise in social, economic and cultural upheavals manifested at the family level in terms of child-headed families, families in the street, skip generation families, divorces and separations, HIV/AIDS, drug and substance abuse,” the document states.

According to the draft policy, the most prevalent family type in Kenya is the nuclear although non-family households are beginning to emerge in the urban centres. Most households whose heads have ever been married are either nuclear or extended. Males who are divorced or separated tend to live alone compared to women, irrespective of place of residence.

“Over the last few decades, there has been a rising trend in cohabitation or ‘living in an arrangement in which an unmarried couple lives together in a long-term relationship that resembles a marriage. Single-parent families have also been on the rise.