Kenyan men could soon enjoy a three-month paternity leave like female colleagues if a petition before the High Court sails through.
The petition filed at the Employment and Labour Relations Court by a Nakuru-based medical practitioner Magare Gikenyi seeks to have men granted three months paternity leave on the grounds of equal responsibility.
Gikenyi argued that the scientific studies done by accomplished researchers have shown that men equally significant roles as mothers in the first three months of childbirth.
The medic is of the opinion that Employment Act, 2007, as it is today, discriminates against men since women enjoy more leave days compared to men.
In 2019, Save the Children announced an increase in paternity leave from two weeks to three months. The policy rules all employed parents will be entitled to the same amount of leave –maternity and paternity- including those with adopted children.
Save the Children Chief Executive Kevin Watkins said increasing the leave available for parents was good for their health, child development and gender equality.
