Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

Students from 16 universities across Kenya squared it out in a debate on the changing face of Kenyan families.

The debate was held to commemorate the United Nations (UN) Day of Families which was marked last week.

During the debate, the students explored the changing face of the Kenyan families and how existing laws and policies can promote the wellbeing of all family members.

Addressing the learners, former Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza (pictured), who moderated the debate, called on the need to equip future generations with the knowledge to deal with challenges facing Kenyan families.

Speaking at the function, Justice Barasa said; “As we engage our students, we are equipping them with the capacity to be critical when they look at these issues, when they try to understand these issues and probably come up with more critical tools which we can address new challenges.”

Debate opportunities

 Addressing the students, Prof Nicholas Orago, the Dean of Students, Maseno University Law School which hosted the event added; “The Debate is an opportunity for young people in society, especially the Gen Z, to explore and interrogate the concept of the family and its place in their wellbeing, socio-cultural belonging and societal socio-economic progression based on current socio-economic and cultural realities of a globalised world.”

He went on; “This event is intended to be an intellectually stimulating and enriching experience for participants and the audience alike, and also provides an opportunity for networking and collaboration for the young people.”

On his part, Martin Onyango, the Associate Director of Legal Strategies at the Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRR) stressed the need to adapt to the changing needs of the traditional family.

“We talk a lot about the traditional family. But we know that the families as constituted in the 21st are very different from the families of the 17th and the 18th century. How do these diverse families enjoy their right to life, education, reproductive rights, access to healthcare? These issues manifest differently in different communities, and even in the same community they manifest differently at different times. This debate was a good reminder of the need to be able to recognise and appreciate this even in our laws and policies.”

Family unit

Sleen Masawa, a law student at Maseno University and one of the debaters said the debate had offered insightful knowledge on the changing societal values and made the students understand the importance of the family unit.

“In this debate I have been able to understand the values of a family and what makes a healthy family. The debate has also helped me to understand that beyond the basic structures of a family, the most important aspect is how values are promoted and how challenges within families are addressed. We were able to interact with different motions that touched on different aspects of life, and we had to address them and outline them and gain the ability to have conversations about them. I have learnt that there’s more to family as a basic unit, it is not just about the composition but about the values and wellbeing of its members,” said Masawa.