THE second day of the second United Nations Habitat Assembly opened with the first-ever roundtable of the First Lady of Kenya, HE Mama Rachel Ruto, and the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Maimunah Mohd Sharif, on the vital role of women in creating sustainable, safe, and resilient cities. It was titled “Women and their role in shaping cities and communities.”

The aim of the discussion was to recognize the vital role women play in enabling cities and communities to thrive. The First Lady of Türkiye, HE Emine Erdoğan, sent her video address to the gathering. The First Lady of Botswana, Neo Masisi, sent a video showcasing her work on women’s empowerment. The discussion was moderated by a prominent Kenyan TV journalist Victoria Rubadiri.

The First Lady of Kenya eloquently phrased the importance of centering this conversation around women in her opening speech. She described women as the “mirror of the society,” conveying that women “must be at the table when planning for our cities” because they are the “society’s atom”.

“We are confident that the outcomes from today’s dialogue shall go a long way in supporting and attaining SDG 11, which is about sustainable cities and communities, and through SDG 5, which is equality, we shall amplify the voice of our women through involving them in the pursuit of inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable communities,” said the First Lady of Kenya, Mama Rachel Ruto.

The day started with a bike ride from the State House through the downtown area to the UN complex in Gigiri in Nairobi to promote urban mobility and sustainability. The UN Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Tods, also attended the bike event to express his support for such urban initiatives.

In the Assembly Hall, delegates heard from Beatrice Achieng and Rose Njoki, who benefited from the women empowerment programmes that work with vulnerable communities to save money, take loans and create enterprises through table banking.

Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif discussed the strides made by the organization in empowering women across the globe. Thanks to UN-Habitat’s work in Afghanistan, women were able to gain land and property rights. In urban planning and public space design, the Her City Toolbox was launched to equip women with the tools to ensure gender equality. To promote women’s leadership in politics and city governance, the Executive Director is spearheading the Women-Led Cities initiative. It aims to promote women’s leadership and economic empowerment through partnerships and impact investing.

“We must ensure that the participation of women and girls in decision-making at the community level,” said the Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Sharif.

The first lady of Türkiye, Emine Erdogan, who champions the Zero Waste movement and chairs the Zero Waste Advisory Board, highlighted the importance of women and stakeholders in creating zero waste solutions.

“I wholeheartedly believe that solutions that will shed light on humanity will be put into practice under the leadership of the pioneering women and all environmentally friendly volunteers who have come together on the occasion of this meeting,” she said.

Women being empowered to engage in and lead the conversation on how to better our cities and communities is paramount for us to make progress. This cannot be done without facing the systemic barriers in place.

The session concluded with a parting thought from the Minister of Environment and Tourism for Botswana, Phildah Kereng, who stated, “To build a city with women first takes building the women as cities.”