CHALLENGES
Evictions from their ancestral lands by the government under the guise of conservation of the Mau Forest complex as well as failure of the government to implement the judgement by the African Court.
Human rights violations sometimes leading to the death of members of the community and police brutality.
Deforestation and other environmental issues have led to depreciation of the Mau Forest Complex consequently affecting the natural habitat of the Ogiek of Mau.
Security issues caused by other communities that surround the Ogiek who are constantly trying to encroach the forest and push the Ogiek out of their lands.
Lack of representation. The Ogiek are poorly represented in political spaces and this has led to a situation where their matters are not well advocated for in the government. This has led to a situation of perpetual social-economic marginalization of the Ogiek people.
Lack of infrastructure. Poor infrastructure has been a major issue affecting the Ogiek of Mau. The areas where the Ogiek are found have been faced by a lot of infrastructural problems including lack of adequate schools, water, power, roads and lack of access to health facilities.
Forced early marriages. Some members of the Ogiek community still hold on to harmful cultural practices including early marriages which have severely negatively impacted on their access to education.
Women within the community have also been marginalized and face their own peculiar set of problems including early teenage pregnancies, lack of access to reproductive health rights, female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and lack of access to menstrual health products.