TV presenter fired - just weeks after giving birth
Sad story of what new mothers go through
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Charity Wambugu, who previously worked as a news anchor and presenter at Njata TV, was last week fired after she missed work to rush her young baby to hospital.
Like many women who bring up children with the assistance of a house help – she has seen all the dramas and the nightmare that often comes with such an arrangement.
At one time, one of the girls made up a lie that her mother was dead and she was forced to skip work as she hustled for a replacement.
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The replacement, as it turned, was even more problematic.
“Last week, she accidentally broke my baby’s leg and I had to rush to hospital in the middle of the night,” Charity recalls.
After hours of back-and-forth at the hospital, the journalist eventually walked to Njata TV studios, but what awaited her was a sack letter.
Luckily for her, she landed a new and better job three days later – but she still worries that many Kenyan employers have unfair policies towards women who have young families.
“I hope to use my sad experience to push for a conversation on work place policies for new mothers. There are many women who are crying about bad house helps and uncooperative employers, I hope to tell their story," she says on her new cause.
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According to the current Kenyan law, new mothers are entitled to up to three months (12 weeks) worth of paid leave.
Charity plans to lobby for a Kenyan law that will guarantee new mothers a conducive environment to raise happy and healthy children.
Some of the developed countries with the friendliest policies for new mothers include Finland and the United Kingdom.
In Finland, mothers are entitled to up to three years’ worth of paid leave while the UK offers up to 10 months.
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