Super activist changing lives, preserving culture

When you are a human rights defender in North eastern, you must be a jack of all trades and master of everything.

Ask Margaret Super, a former military officer and well-rounded activist based in Marsabit.

From advocating for children's rights and climate change resilience to indigenous cultural rights, Super is a battle-hardened community leader in Marsabit championing every issue that affects the people.

The mother of two founded the Pastoralist People’s Initiative to broaden the work beyond herself and involve the community in advocating for their rights.

One initiative that stands out is teaching women to develop kitchen gardens and grow vegetables for home consumption. 

Through this simple act, women have reduced their dependence on men for daily food, consequently reducing gender-based violence at home.

“My organisation is building women’s capacity to reduce dependence on their men through kitchen gardening. The gardens ensure that mothers have a sustained supply of vegetables for their homes, hence we don’t depend on relief food,” she said.

“During the droughts that killed livestock, there were many conflicts at home because women were only looking up to their men. The garden is helping homes.”

Kitchen garden drives have also ensured that children left at home when pastoral communities move with their livestock in search of pasture and water, have food to eat.

“When we leave our little girls behind with a neighbour or anybody else, they were subjected to child labour, forced marriage, or FGM because they had no food at home. Now we leave them at home because there is food.”

Super’s organisation also puts together community football tournaments, incorporating both boys and girls.

This not only enhances community cohesion but also gives girls a platform, as many in the community did not believe women could also excel in sports.

The tournament started during the COVID-19 era in the Logologo area and continues every school holiday season as part of mentorship programs.

These activities are perfect forums for sensitising youth against drug use, which has increased in Marsabit since the Moyale-Isiolo road was opened up.

The local community gave PPI a piece of land where she organises the tournament. 

The land is also for hosting Rendille cultural activities to preserve its traditions that are fizzling out.

“The Rendille culture is fading here and I am a strong advocate for indigenous cultural rights and knowledge. That is why I’m keen on holding the cultural festival to preserve the language, food and practices.”

She advocates for the preservation of positive cultural attributes but wants bad practices like FGM, early marriage and GBV rejected.

“Now PPI is the umbrella for 50 women groups here in Marsabit. We managed to hold our first food and cultural festival last year, where we brought our entire Rendille community together to revive our culture, language and identity,” she said.

“We shall be having this activity every two years because our language is diminishing and this is one way for us to also be recognised as one of the minority groups here in Kenya.”

Super enrolled in the military in 1997 and served for 15 years, later requesting voluntary early retirement at the rank of corporal to serve her community in civic society.

She retired with an exemplary record.

“I also managed to be among the first women who were deployed to the Air Force and served at Laikipia Air Force Technical Wing as one of the first female safety technicians and as a Safety Equipment worker.”

Before starting the Pastoralist People’s Initiative, she worked with several civil society organisations as head of security and logistics before fully transitioning into activism.