Empowering Women in Fisheries: Malindi–Magarini JCMA
We convened a dedicated session with women in fisheries from the Malindi–Magarini Joint Co-Management Area (JCMA) to advance dialogue on the rights of women in small-scale fisheries and strengthen their role in the sector.
The session explored critical themes including gender equality, women’s rights, and the persistent underrepresentation of women in Beach Management Unit (BMU) leadership. Participants also engaged in discussions on legal and policy protections, economic and financial barriers, and opportunities for growth within fisheries value chains.
Further conversations highlighted social and cultural constraints, health and safety concerns, environmental and climate-related impacts, as well as Gender-Based Violence (GBV)—including sexual harassment, verbal, and physical abuse—affecting women in the sector.
The women put forward key recommendations to drive empowerment and inclusion. These included the need to establish and strengthen women-led collective action platforms such as cooperatives and associations to enhance their voice, visibility, bargaining power, and income. They also emphasized improving infrastructure to support processing, storage, and value addition, alongside better access to appropriate technologies.
This engagement reinforces the importance of placing women at the center of fisheries governance and ensuring their meaningful participation in building resilient and inclusive coastal livelihoods.
