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MEET THE NOMINE; UPCOMING HRD OF THE YEAR CATEGORY- HALIMA DIDA


Halima hails from Isiolo County which is located in the Northern part of Kenya. 

Halima wears the crown of being a mother of three and is the serving chairlady of Isiolo women of Faith which is an affiliate of the Inter Religious Council of Kenya. Halima has garnered experience in the human rights sector having worked with as a civic educator with local civil society actors.  She is also a champion of preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) and serves as a member of the Isiolo County Committee on the prevention and countering of violent extremism.

In her line of work, Halima works with other women from different religious coordinating bodies, religious leaders and the interfaith youth to promote peaceful co-existence. 

Her advocacy work revolves around the promotion of rights to equal opportunities in service delivery especially in access to quality and affordable health care, education and equal job opportunities.Halima has been passionate about the rights of marginalized communities from the Northern Frontier. She works closely with women who promote the rights of the girl child in largely patriarchal communities, works with the youth in mentorship and promotion of intergenerational exchange of knowledge and Persons With Disabilities keen to realize the implementation of the Persons With disabilities Act. She has also worked to promote inclusion of these groups in decision making processes and equal representation.

Halima began her human rights work as a volunteer in the year 2012 in the local community based organizations in her community, mainly advocating for the rights of women and girl child. During that time, she spearheaded anti Sexual and Gender Based Violence campaigns where she sensitized  community members  of the effects of the vices including harmful practices including Female Genital Mutilation. 

Since 2015, Halima is actively involved with matters social budgeting project; which focuses on working with communities to identify gaps in county budgets and service delivery in three sectors namely health, water and education. She uses this form of community theatre to promote excellent service delivery and accountability. 

Within her community, Halima is a dependable shoulder to lean on. She dares to work with a group of women who have lost their sons to alleged radicalization into terrorist groups. She offers refuge from the stigmatization, debriefing sessions as well as lending a voice against the extrajudicial killings of youths in the name of security operations. 

Halima believes that the award will be a great inspiration to the individuals at the grassroots who stand up against human rights violations. It will enable them realize that their passion, good work, dedication and fighting for human rights is appreciated and recognized even if it is at the community level. She believes that will motivate and encourage other community members to stand up and advocate for human rights.

Want to share your story about championing Human Rights in Kenya? Write to us on obino@defenderscoalition or 0716 200100 for for collecting the story for publication.

 



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