Home » Media Centre » Blogs » Inclusivity in Kenya: Reviewing efforts of the Gendered Lens approach
Today marks fourteen years since promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) within which a two-thirds gender principle was adopted. Unfortunately, legal experts, civil society organizations, media representatives, human rights defenders, and political leaders are still analysing, strategizing and dialoguing on ways to enable this principle can be achieved in totality.
All the while, Kenyans wait!
While the Judiciary has since 2012 repeatedly declared Parliament unconstitutional due to its failure to adopt the principle, Parliament is still yet to pass a legislation that ensures no more than “two-thirds” of any elected body is of the same gender, as required by the Constitution.
Listening into a forum hosted by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for freedom (FNF) and the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) discussing this impasse last week, all speakers underscored the failure of Parliament (and by extension, various Administrations) to resolve this issue. Moving forward, there’s a need for urgency to settle the never-ending constitutional crisis.
From the discussions, below is a brief synopsis of the key concerns.
Structures
After the new constitution took effect, public and private organizations alike introduced measures that ensured women are represented and vibrant in institutional structures. Gradually, such structures enabled women to increasingly assume greater responsibilities and more decision-making roles, a situation that was previously a taboo, and looked down upon.
As a result, there was a spike of women leaders in the country.
However, as time went by, most of those who initially benefitted from developed structures made little attempts to pull up fellow women, and instead created buffers to ensure they remained important and relevant. Duly, some of the structures put in place have been watered down into become centres of discriminatory actions within the inclusivity approach.
Mustapha Dumbuya, the Deputy Director of Journalists for Human Rights Africa Program indicates that many of these pioneer women stories are yet to be told, documented and featured in media spaces and/or narratives that amplify their successes and impact in the society. This would be an excellent way to inspire more and more women to get involved in leadership.
Advocacy Measures
The Dean of Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communications Dr. Nancy Booker stated that the media, civil society and academic institutions should work closely to ensure effective advocacy measures for gender equality such as utilizing research, capacitating women, and pushing for the implementation of policies and initiatives that advance women’s rights within respective sectors, be upheld.
She indicated documentation and amplification of evidence-sharing, on women successes and challenges in the leadership journey can be a crucial enabler. She requested women to refrain from being too modest and asked them the embrace the spaces they are in and to do positive things that make them and fellow women to stand out.
She finally requested men not to be silent, but noted they should play a greater role in advocating for women’s rights and space to change attitude of fellow men.
Therefore, galvanizing men to advocate for women’s rights is the game-changer!
Legal Reforms
In 2023, the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) task force proposed legislative amendments which were incorporated into a NADCO report adopted by Parliament in February 2024. The report found that between the eleventh and twelfth Parliament, twelve bills on implementation of two-thirds gender rule were considered.
Generally, the report agrees that the gender principle needs to be implemented and recommended substantive changes to the Constitution, Elections Act, and Political Parties Act aimed at achieving equitable gender representation in both the National Assembly and Senate.
In agreement with the Multisectoral Working Group on realisation of two thirds gender principle, two key formulas were finally arrived at and are still contentious but under consideration:
Way Forward
Anne Ireri the Chief Executive Officer of Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA) delivered a strong message that women are capable leaders and the continuous failure of Parliament to enact the two-thirds gender rule casts a bleak picture of the state and health of democracy in the country.
She additionally noted that the delayed exercise of delimitation of boundaries and lack of a properly constituted Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) exacerbates the matter.
In equal measure, Njeri Kabeberi the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Wangari Maathai Foundation and a Director at Chapter Four expressed worry wondering if “a gender Bill is the solution?” She spoke of lack of political goodwill noting that civil society organizations have been raising awareness on the gender principle, going as far as translating it to Swahili “thuluthi mbili za mama” while conducting civic awareness campaigns to connect the issue to citizens.
She finally concluded that “wananchi” do not discriminate women, and rallied women to turn out in great numbers to participate in active elections. “This is the solution... We must equal or surpass the number men provide as candidates in any electoral position”.
Conclusion
The positive outlook of things is that women are slightly feeling empowered to become politicians... be they mothers, daughters, sisters and mama mboga’s. However, in a more radical sense of the meeting, the feeling especially amongst the younger women (Gen-Z’s) was that women are ready and willing to engage in active politics and it was time to mobilize women around the country to march to Parliament and advocate for its dissolution, as currently constituted all matters handled therein are illegal and unconstitutional.
This is the situation Kenyans find themselves in, where legally speaking... hatuko vizuri!
Categories: gender equality two-thirds gender principle Katiba at 14 Constitution of Kenya
You must login to comment
There are no comments.