"In my opinion, women are not supposed to work, let alone be elected as leaders.” — Samuel Maina, 43, fruits vendor
NAIROBI, KENYA — Female legislators in Kenya say they’re planning to push for a change that will create more spaces for women in parliament.
The effort comes after a bill, formally called the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill, 2015, was rejected in early May. The bill aimed to make parliament comply with a constitutional requirement that no more than two-thirds of elective and appointed office be of the same gender. What’s missing from the constitution, female legislators say, is the mechanism to provide for the nomination of more women to parliament whenever there are fewer than required by that law.
In the National Assembly, about 19 percent of the members are women, while the Senate, which is part of the bi-cameral parliament, is 26.5 percent women.
Alice Wahome, a parliamentarian and the treasurer of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) says the group will continue advocating that parliament comply with the law. KEWOPA plans to reintroduce the bill when parliament resumes sittings in June, Wahome says in a phone interview.
“Kenyans have been duped by our male politicians, who are propagating the idea that parliament is bloated and that passing the two-thirds gender bill will increase the wage bill,” Wahome says, referring to concerns that increasing the number of women would inflate parliament’s overall numbers, as well as the amount the country spends on salaries to match. “I want to urge Kenyans to reject this argument. If Kenyans feel that the wage bill is too big, then we need to audit the entire constitution and not only one section that touches on women.”
Global Press Journal asked people in Nairobi whether they support plans to increase the number of women in parliament. Here are excerpts from those interviews.
“We need to have women involved in all leadership positions. We cannot live without women and the world would be so empty without them. You see, even in most homes, the woman is the neck while the man is the head. This means definitely that the men cannot do without their female counterparts in parliament. I believe things will change in a big way if we allow more women in parliament. These women leaders will be instrumental in fighting for the rights of other women in the country.”
“We are living in modern times when our women are educated. Even when you look at developed countries, women hold very senior positions, not just in parliament but also in big companies. Claims that women will become big-headed if they get to leadership positions are mere propaganda. Let us give women these opportunities. They deserve them because they have gone to school and rightfully acquired their academic credentials.”
“In my opinion, women are not supposed to work, let alone be elected as leaders. Were it not for the fact that we are in hard economic times, women should have stayed at home to support their husbands. It doesn’t matter whether there are more men than women in parliament. What matters is that our political leaders are able to serve their people. Gender doesn’t count.”
“We need more women in parliament because for a long time, we have been discriminated against, even in others sector. I believe women leaders are more capable of driving development than men. Even if we cannot have an equal number of women and men in parliament, I would suggest that we have, for example, 50 women parliamentarians against 70 men.”
“In the 21st century that we are living in, it is evident that women are capable of leadership. What our male [parliamentarians] showed us when they rejected the bill that was to increase the number of women in parliament was mere chauvinism. They are threatened by the possible strong leadership skills that our women hold. I believe there is still hope for this law. The women should draft an equally strong law to showcase the leadership abilities.”
“I think there should be a 50-50 balance between male and female parliamentarians. Women are more concerned about the affairs of the common people than men. I feel disappointed that this law did not go through.”
“We already have many women in parliament. Each of the 47 counties elected a women’s representative to parliament in 2013. The female [parliamentarians] don’t seem to have done much since they were elected, so adding more women will be increasing the burden on the country and the tax payer.”
Lilian Kaivilu, GPJ, translated some interviews from Swahili.
