- Parliament, as it is currently, is illegally constituted.
- Until the gender principle is implemented, it will continue to be the gadfly of Socrates’ Athens
Image: HANDOUT
There is this fable of a young girl who visits a construction site. She approaches the first worker and asks, “Excuse me, what are you doing?” He answers, "Can’t you see I am laying bricks." She goes on to the next worker who says he is building a wall. The third construction worker tells the girl he is building a temple.
I will relate this fable to the two-thirds gender principle journey.
You either look at it as a simple act of laying bricks – giving women political handouts by creating more seats for them – or building a wall – implementing the requirement as enshrined in the constitution.
Or better still, building a temple – being part of a movement, a cause, that is not only going to meet the constitutional requirement, but improving the lives of the future generation – giving a voice to the voiceless and value addition to the current crop of leadership.
The two-thirds gender rule under Article 27(8) mandates that not more than two-thirds of appointive and elective bodies should be of the same gender.
Further, Article 81(b) says the electoral system shall comply with the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public agencies shall be of the same gender.
Parliament, as it is currently, is illegally constituted. Unfortunately, institutions with the keys to achieving gender equality – political parties and Parliament – belong in the category of bricklayers.
These institutions are dominated by patriarchal alpha males who believe implementing the rule is giving women what they did not work for.
The alphas have not stopped at denying women leadership opportunities but have gone ahead and abused and misused the affirmative action and nominated their relatives, girlfriends and loyalists to Parliament and county assemblies.
Eleven gender bills have been submitted in Parliament, with former Chief Justice David Maraga calling for the dissolution of Parliament but the rule is yet to be implemented.
The latest attempt by a multisectoral working group appointed by former Gender CS Aisha Jumwa to achieve the not more than two-thirds gender principle is also gathering dust in Parliament.
Noting the many cultural and financial hurdles women have to go through, the report not only recommended that more seats be set aside for women, but also came up with a formula on how they can be sustained.
Who is fooling who? Is it that Kenyans don’t believe in women leadership or there is lack of political goodwill? I will go with the latter and this is why.
Almost all women leaders who vied for political seats on tickets of key political parties in the last election clinched the seats. This is clear proof that Kenyans are ready for leadership of women.
On the other hand, last year, when some opposition MPs supported the Finance Bill, the party’s National Executive Council not only read a riot act to them, but expelled them.
Did we see the naysayers of the Duale 1, Duale 2, Duale 3 and the other nine gender bills that failed in Parliament being fought with the same gusto as the non-party loyalists?
Fight for gender equality did not just start with the 2010 Constitution. It started many years ago after the Beijing conference in 1985. The Beijing declaration had 12 focus areas, among them, educating and training women, women in power and decision-making and violence against women.
Former Karachuonyo MP Phoebe Asiyo, in 1997, tabled the first affirmative action motion in Parliament.
While the motion sought to address cultural and historical gender imbalance, physical segregation and regional disparities, perhaps the most controversial component was seeking an amendment to the constitution that would have set aside two parliamentary constituencies in the former eight provinces for women.
In her book It Is Possible, she describes the motion’s failure as one of her lowest political moments.
In the year 2000, then Dagoretti MP Beth Mugo’s bill on affirmative action was passed.
Yes, there are many strides that have been made in getting women to leadership and decision-making tables thanks to the 2010 Constitution. Just the other day, Kenya had its first female Attorney General and the Judiciary is headed by a woman.
Today, we have seven women governors from the previous three, 30 elected women MPs and 114 ward representatives.
But is this enough? No, we want more. And until the gender principle is implemented, it will continue to be the gadfly of Socrates’ Athens. It will keep biting and disturbing the comfortable until equality is achieved.
Unbeknownst to us, is that the tide is moving. Rwanda has achieved it through a quota policy. Kenya should toe the line before it starts crying over its moved cheese.
The writer is a sub-editor with the Star