President Obama tells Kenyans success in 21st century requires fair treatment of women

President Obama on Sunday told the people of Kenya that equal treatment of women is a key recipe for success, saying so-called traditions of forced marriage, domestic assault and genital mutilation are “holding you back” and that failure to educate and employ women will doom their economy.

“These traditions may date back centuries; they have no place in the 21st century,” Mr. Obama said.

Speaking at an indoor sports arena in Nairobi, he told an estimated crowd of 4,500 it would be stupid to have only half the team on the playing field.

“Treating women and girls as second-class citizens, those are bad traditions. They need to change,” the president said.

Mr. Obama, who later spoke at Kenyatta University and did a radio interview, frequently cited America’s past to make a point about progress during his address, a way of persuading Kenyans on issues of social consequence without singling them out.

He likened Kenyan progress on women’s rights to the U.S.’ evolution on the Confederate battle flag in the wake of a mass shooting at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

“The fact is it was a flag that flew over an army that fought to maintain a system of slavery and racial subjugation,” he said. “So we should understand our history, but we should also recognize that it sends a bad message to those who were liberated from slavery and oppression … Just because something is a tradition doesn’t make it right.”

He also urged Kenyans to fight corruption, citing studies that show it costs Kenyans 250,000 jobs each year, as bribes replace honest pay.

But, he insisted, the problem isn’t unique to Africa.

“My hometown of Chicago was infamous for Al Capone and the mob and organized crime corrupting law enforcement,” Mr. Obama said. “But what happened was that over time people got fed up, and leaders stood up and they said, ’We’re not going to play that game anymore.’”