By Njoki Karuoya

The last time I was in school struggling with mathematics, I was taught that half of 16 is eight. A third of 16 is approximately five. But knowing just how difficult maths was to me, I can understand how the officer in charge of awarding scholarships at KenGen found this ‘simple’ calculation extremely challenging and came up with the answer ‘one’ to award the only girl in a group of 16 lucky winners a scholarship.

I’m not even sure which minimal percentage he used to arrive at that magical result.

Surprisingly, even the KenGen bosses who are supposed to be well versed in matters political (as it affects their economics) are not aware of the decree this nation’s president made to the effect that all positions, public and private, should be shared out at a minimum of 30:70 (women:men), but I suppose when the President does not follow his own directive, who else will.

And I’m sure, like everyone else who breaks this ‘golden’ rule, the KenGen bosses have the perfect excuse for the oversight — that they did not receive many applications from women, or none of the others who applied were deserving. Shame on someone.

On to other serious matters. Marriage has always been a very sensitive topic. From the moment a guy contemplates asking the girl he seems to love most to spend the rest of his life with him, or when a girl eagerly waits to be asked, dropping major hints along the way, almost to the point of threatening to walk out on the relationship or bending backwards to please his every whim in the hope that he will desire her more, the prospect of ‘union for life’ is in itself a daunting thought.

It is the cause of jitters on the eve of the wedding where bride and groom wonder if they are making the right move and choice.

Wedding day itself is always an elaborate affair, regardless of the size. The celebrations remain imprinted in the couple’s minds, each detail periodically arousing hilarious, happy memories or flashes of anger.

Whatever the case, most religious institutions consider marriages a union for life. Which is why they frown upon divorces and separations, which is the lesser evil as it presents some level of hope of reunion.

Three proposed Bills — Family Protection, Marriage and Matrimonial Property — have been presented to Cabinet for discussion and onward deliberations by Parliament. And while all the draft Bills recommend a raft of revolutionary solutions to deal with problems being faced in marriages and families, religious leaders have appealed for calm, tolerance and wider consultations in order to settle on laws that will receive more national appeal and acceptance.

At a breakfast meeting hosted and organised by, among others, the National Commission for Gender and Development, Kenya Law Reform and Heinrich Boll Foundation last week, religious leaders from the Christian, Muslim and Hindu faiths expressed their reservations to certain provisions in the Bills that do not sit very well with their beliefs.

The good thing, though, was they were open to more discussions and negotiations for the sake of national good, where this would mean that the rights of all individuals in a family unit (man, woman and children) are recognised, respected and protected.

It was great to see leaders from different religious affiliations sit together and calmly express their views on a common unit — the family. There was never a single moment where the Christians threatened to jump on the throats of their Muslim brothers and vice versa.

Watching them through the hours of composed and friendly deliberations, I was impressed at the level of tolerance demonstrated by the religious leaders. If only our political class could do the same and work collectively for the common good of the nation.

For Dr Regina Karega of the Gender Commission, the way forward is very clear. Wider consultations that require