We must do more for gender equity

The 2010 Constitution stipulates that no more than two-thirds members of Parliament should be from the same gender.

However, the 11th Parliament does not conform to this rule. There are fewer women than the envisaged 33 per cent even after giving 47 women electable positions in all our counties.

There are only 16 women elected through the constituencies out of 290 constituencies. The situation in the Senate and the county assemblies is also the same. In fact, at the county level, the probability for election was slim.

Some counties have no single female elected as MCA. Even the nominated slots did not make up for the gap. This is why the Constitutional Amendment Bill sponsored by Ndhiwa Member of Parliament Agostino Netto makes a lot of sense. To understand this, we need to review the history of the emancipation of the Kenyan woman.

No doubt, the Constitution of Kenya 2010 has given gender issues a special place. It seeks to give redress to the historical exclusion of women from the mainstream society.

The new law removes the socio-economic and legal barriers that Kenyan women have faced throughout history. In comparison to the old constitutional order, the new legal framework not only creates space for women to manoeuvre their way into the private and public sphere on an equal footing with men, but also institutionalises direct gender-specific measures to correct the consequences of women's historical exclusion from the society.

Such measures include affirmative action. Through gender balance, the new law seeks to elevate women to a level that has hitherto been the preserve of men.

Here I wish to emphasise that women throughout Kenya's history have been marginalised. In the traditional societies and during the colonial period, women had a more or less diminished legal status.

This situation did not change much after independence and throughout the subsequent regimes women's legal status did not improve. The law discriminated against them either directly or in its effect. While the democratic progress after the second liberation brought some gains, these were not significant enough to break off the legal and social hurdles that hindered women in Kenya. The glass ceiling remained just too high to break.

The new Constitution therefore is a culmination of the incremental steps taken by the country to level the socio-legal terrain in favour of women. It provides the same opportunities for men and women.

At the same time, it seeks to rectify the imbalances that women have suffered throughout the years of historical exclusion. The new Constitution represents a significant improvement in women's status in the country in all spheres of life. Not least among this is the issue of representation.

 

I wish to discuss the opportunities and suggest that if women are to make a wholesome contribution to the Kenyan society, they must take advantage of the framework in the new constitutional dispensation through seeking elective positions.

But is this tenable?

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission requested from the Supreme Court interpretation prior to the 2013 General Elections about the constitutionality of the gender imbalance in both houses of Parliament in case fewer women got elected.

At that time, the Supreme Court ruled for an exemption in the first election under the new Constitution. However, there shall be no exemption in the coming election if the gender rule is not fulfilled. Any voter or citizen would be able to go to court and challenge the legality of a Parliament that does not fulfill those constitutional requirements.

To be on the safe side, Article 91 of the Constitution needs an amendment. This article, not being a protected clause, only needs a two-third majority for it to be passed. Besides the inclusion of gender issues being a temporary matter, it needs a clear time-frame.

Article 91 is an Affirmative Action Clause. That means once the objective is achieved, it can be repealed. In truth, not many women will be elected to Parliament as spelt out in the Constitution.

If the amendment goes through, a provision needs to be to allow for a time-frame that can prepare the electorate to accept the role of women in representation.

In many parts of the country, cultural and religious barriers still inhibit women from actively participating in politics. Many of the communities are patriarchal and the chances of electing a woman to position of authority remains remote.

If not addressed now, the situation might get more complicated as we approach the next electoral cycle. A vigorous campaign of civic education is needed. Besides, an exclusively reserved seat for women like the Women Rep alone does not add much value if the opportunities accorded to their male counterparts are not adequately addressed.

Right now the male MPs have access to the devolved funds through the Constituency Development Fund. The women who were elected on exclusive sits do not access development funds and therefore making it less advantageous for them and more of a wasteful venture. Going by what has happened so far, those elected have had little impact on the ground.

Moreover, the feeling is that those elected are out of touch with the reality partly because most of them are daughters, wives or mistresses of the elite in society and that the typical Wanjiku (who knows where the shoe is pinching) will never get elected.