 Ladies and gentlemen, what a wonderful day it is today, we are right here at the KCB Leadership Center for the Immigration of the... Well, we have come in as a guest and I would wish to thank the Nubian community for organizing this very important cultural event. Svalas Festival as it has been launched today is a festival that promotes the culture of the Nubian community and I'm truly proud of the Nubian women and youth for putting this together because it is part of the government agenda in terms of how do we promote our culture, how do we safeguard our culture and this is a big step because the Nubian community not only has encouraged everybody within the community to come together, on top of that they actually have a brand ambassador who they call the Nubian icon. So for me that's a big plus because I'm even informed they have a big event on the 24th of December which is now the event that celebrates the Nubian culture, you know, and it's not only in Kenya, it's East Africa. So for me that's a big plus not only for the Nubian women but the country as large because it then encourages each and every community to celebrate their rich culture, to put in place their culture and to safeguard their cultural spaces, artifacts, you know, their music, their dressing and design, you know. Personally, before I was invited in this event I wouldn't have known the Nubian community as deep as I'm living today. That means I'm richer in terms of even acknowledging that there are other cultures out there that we all need to embrace. So for me that is a big plus not only for the Nubian community alone but the other communities as well because it then means all of us need to celebrate our culture. We need to take pride in the cultural events that we have and we need to grow our community together. So the women and the youthful of the Nubian community, I am truly proud of what they are doing here. You as the presidential adviser on women issues, how do you plan on uplifting the Nubian women now that you have learnt a lot from them and also have a Nubian name? Thank you very much. I can tell you it's the Nubian women who have actually uplifted you today. So how can the Nubian women uplift us? And how can we partner and work together so that we ensure that there is a balance within the society? To give and take first I have learnt that FGM was a cultural practice within the Nubian community and I'm told it's a cultural practice that they have come out of. So for me that is a plus. That is a plus because within the Nubian community as the icon of the cultural festival of the Nubian community that is one area that the beauty pageant or rather the icon, the symbol of unity, the symbol of love, the symbol of culture can be able to partner with government and for us to be able to reduce the cases of FGM within this country because they are telling the rest of this country that it can be done, it is possible and it's a beautiful thing for us to move with cultural practices that add value to the communities. So for me that's a big plus. My office, the women rights office basically my work is to identify gaps within the women's space in terms of their rights, in terms of how do we create a gender lens in everything that we do where the women and children because we cannot talk about women and leave our children behind. So within the Nubian community where are the gaps, what is it that the Nubian community wish us to partner and there's so much we can do as women. For instance, in Kibera we have a high number of cases on teenage pregnancies. We have a high cases of rape cases when it comes to girls and boys. We have issues and that is an area that we as women, if all of us move together, we can curb the vice, we can reduce the vices. Matters to do with health. How can women within a community assist any other woman within maternal health systems? Your neighbour is pregnant, she has complications. How can we take care of our community? So there's so much that women can do and I call upon all the women to partner with my office. Wherever there are gaps, there is my work. My work is to also advocate for the good cultural practices and for us to be able to have the voices of women within government that can actually support good cultural practices. Women rights cuts a course board. Women economic empowerment. Economic empowerment is actually a one entity that everybody has looked on the other side. But it's a women's rights issue because we believe that if women are economically empowered, the society is empowered. How can this Nubian women reach you? Is there a way? Is there a hotline? Is there called BT? How can they reach you to now start on these partnerships? The Nubian women have already reached me. How did they reach me for me to be here? All you need to do is show up. You know, just come. My good friend Rafiga, we met in a function and he told me I need to come. We exchanged numbers. So there was no committee. It was just a text and I'm here. So I am open. There are offices for women and we can see the presidency has ensured that the women of this country are actually catered for. And you can also see the Ministry of Gender is now a Ministry of Gender standing by itself. So already that tells you that the government has goodwill on the space of women and young people and we need to tap into those spaces. So for the youth who are looking for opportunities, why can't we start businesses? For the youth who are looking for opportunities, why can't you group yourself and put yourself within the talent area space? Government has given the policy direction. Government has put funds to support youth initiatives. Government has put funds to support the women. There's GAF, we have Women Enterprise Fund. We have institutions that are actually able to give financing for women activities. We have the Haslah Fund. And it takes small steps and we'll all get there. So for me it's to urge the women and youth in this country get to know what the government plan is for women and youth. Tap into that space and then let us move together. Together. Let us not pull in different directions. And the one thing I allowed women for is that women have been factored to nature. Women have a lot of love. When it comes to unity of purpose, women, if they unite, they'll be able to function their communities and the communities will be able to work for us. So it is important that we all come together. We support the government initiatives and we work towards one direction. For me then we'll see a lot, a lot of improvement and we'll be able to see a lot of the society. The society will then bridge itself and we'll be able to work together and support each other. And I think that for me is the most important thing. And I'm here for all the women out there. Thank you so much, Maziri. Now if I can ask the icon a question, what does it mean to you? There's one thing. So for me, having gone through this, for me is to encourage all Kenyans to get out there, get to participate within these Saballa festivals. I'm told it's going to be on the 24th. So come you all, get the tickets and let's support the Minubian community. Thank you so much, Maziri. What does it mean to you to be this year's icon? It's a great opportunity and I can't wait to show the world what the Minubian culture and tradition entails and what it brings into the country. What exactly will be your role? How are you showcasing this culture? By advertising it first of all. We've had different brand ambassadors who have done the same. But the uniqueness with me is I will do more than just showcasing it. I'll go all out. I'm big at community service. So while showcasing the culture, I'll also give back to the community as well. That's out of curiosity. What goes into choosing an icon in the Minubian culture? One of the main things is you should be at least familiarized with the Minubian culture and traditions and also the Minubian language is also important and the Minubian history. Thank you so much. Thank you very much.