Kewopa promises more engagements to enrich women leadership

Ann waruguru, a lawyer and a training consultant for Kewopa speaking at the workshop/STEPHEN ASTARIKO

The Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) has promised to continue engaging everybody for the sake of enriching women leadership in North Eastern and the country at large.

Women leadership in the country is still way below the required numbers; however, the situation is much worse in the North Eastern region, with pastoral communities still yet to embrace woman leadership.

Religious and cultural barriers have been cited as the biggest impediments to the growth of women in leadership.

So serious is the situation in the region that Sophia Abdinoor remains the only woman to ever have been elected in a constituency since independence. She was the MP Ijara between 2017 and 2022.

The situation is the same countrywide, with both houses unable to achieve the two-third gender rule.

Ann Waruguru, a lawyer and a training consultant for Kewopa, said that the organisation has been very clear from the beginning, engaging everyone for the sake of enriching women's leadership in the country.

Katra Omar speaking at the workshop at a Garissa hotel/STEPHEN ASTARIKO

She said that even though statistics were worrying as far as women's leadership in the NEP region is concerned, the situation is slowly changing, saying that such meetings and engagements with the young people, the women, the community, and different stakeholders have started bearing fruit.

“We understand that women don’t live in isolation; women lead communities where men, young people, and cultural and religious leaders are. So ours is to enhance this conversation and make sure that regardless of what sets us apart we have a common good and that we are going to give and allow women to thrive and express themselves and for them to lead,” she said.

She made the remarks on Thursday on the sidelines of a one-day workshop at a Garissa hotel that was organised by Kewopa through the office of Garissa woman representative Udgoon Siyad.

The workshop, which brought together the youth and women, was meant to discuss how best young people and women can grow and improve themselves to ensure that they effectively serve.

“As we say, for as long as women are given the opportunity and chances to explore their potential, there is no limit to what they can do regardless of culture, religion, or even their economic status,” she said.

The Youth and women from Garissa during the one-day meeting that was organized by kewopa/STEPHEN ASTARIKO

Kaltuma shale Mohamed called on Kewopa to hold such meetings more frequently, noting that they go along way in not only enlightening them but also giving them good ideas on how to make it in leadership.

“I want to sincerely thank our woman representative and Kewopa for organising such a meeting. It is an eye opener for me. One thing that comes out is that as women we need to be bold, aggressive, not afraid, and above all, use our potential regardless of the challenges that we come across in pursuit to lead in our counties,” she said.

On her part, Katra Omar regretted the long-held cultural perception in the region that women should stay at home, be more quiet, and be seen more as opposed to being heard more.

“I think there is no person who is more Kenyan than the other. And as far as you are Kenyan and capable, you should be given the opportunity to lead in any capacity, be it at the national or county level. This is what my community needs to understand,” she said.

She added, "As we say, for as long as women are given the opportunity and chances to explore their potential, there is no limit to what we can do regardless of culture, religion, or even economic status. Women have been leading for the longest time, and our potential, especially in this part of the country, only needs to be tapped for us to realize our full potential as far as leadership is concerned.”

Elvis Wambura from the Garissa County Woman Representative office lauded the discussions that he described as insightful, noting that it was through them good ideas that helped the young people and women grow.

“I am very happy with the discussions that come out of this meeting. What comes out of it is that women want to lead; they want to move beyond their challenges; they want to move beyond culture and some of the practices that stop them from leading."

During the meeting, the participants were engaged on how they can mentor themselves, move beyond their county, and collaborate with other people across different counties and exchange ideas for the sole purpose of ensuring that they have been able to build their skills as leaders so that they are able to take up the mantle of leadership in the coming years.