As I watch the political class battling it out over the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) and an impending referendum, feeling almost like a mere spectator, I am forced to reflect on the journey I took in support of the 2010 Constitution as a young woman fighting for a better Kenya.
What struck me is the glaring difference between the great promise the 2010 law held for women back then, and a decade later, our failure to observe its spirit, ethics and letter. The 2010 constitution was the result of a long and protracted people’s struggle against power, and aimed at creating a society anchored on tenets of social justice and human dignity.
The constitution that preceded it had a lot of regressive legislation, and had been used to suppress fundamental human rights by those in power. For many years, it ensured young women for far too long were consigned to the periphery of discussions and strategising to shape the future of Kenya.
The deeply entrenched challenges of violence against women, sexual violence, employment discrimination, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, poor reproductive health and lack of access to safe abortion services among others, had long beleaguered young women’s autonomy and self-development.
These ills and violations were essentially accepted and tolerated by society. Although there had previously been some opportunities for young women to participate in various aspects of society, we were conscious that by raising our voices as a critical mass we would be creating more opportunities to be heard and to participate.
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For young women, the cost of this marginalisation and exposure to violence was too great a price to pay. Warembo Ni Yes! Campaign in 2010 emerged as a movement of young Kenyan women, who in the run up to the August 4, 2010 Constitution referendum rallied together to collectively leverage the voices and votes of young women as a constituency.
The Constitution gave important gains to women and in specific ways to young women in an unprecedented attempt to legislate the rights to equality and to equal participation.
The Warembo Ni Yes! Campaign was an unapologetic assertion of the voices of young women, their different needs, ways of organising and particular interests in development, political, economic and social decisions that shape Kenya. Its objectives then were; to mobilise young women to know their rights as enshrined in the New Constitution, raise the profile of young women as an important constituency that is vested in the governance, socio-economic, political and cultural direction that the country takes; and to promote appreciation for diversity and tolerance among young women.
Organised in form of grassroots caucuses and congresses, the movement enabled open discussion on topical issues such as women rights, property ownership, inheritance, sexual and reproductive rights - and mobilised support for the proposed constitution, especially among young women.
In 2010, Kenyan women overwhelmingly supported the proposed constitution – with the hope that it would reverse their marginalisation, and ensure greater representation in decision-making – effectively putting them at the forefront of their future.
The 2010 Constitution made a bold move to legislate equality and with one stroke, it removed the legal provisions that rendered women second class citizens. It declared all Kenyans equal, regardless of the individual characteristics.
It was unequivocal in its language on rights and responsibilities. For the first time in Kenya’s 47-year history, the New Constitution acknowledged the youth and importance of their input, while tasking the government to ensure they had access to opportunities.
While Kenyans as a collective today enjoy greater freedoms, such as those associated with speech and assembly, blatant and flagrant disregard of constitutional provisions has greatly inhibited their realisation.
Women too have achieved increased representation in legislative assemblies at the county and national level, but this numerical representation has not translated into qualitative representation in terms of new legislation put in place to safeguard the rights of women. More fundamentally, Kenya is yet to implement the 2/3 gender rule. Women continue to grapple with increased violations, including gender-based violence, control of women’s bodily autonomy, suppression and silencing of women’s voices, femicide and patriarchal cultural practices on inheritance and land ownership. My reflections of the constitutional process have left a few questions on my mind.
Why the clamour to change the constitution? Do the proposed changes safeguard the interests of women in any way? Why change something that is barely implemented?
-The writer is a woman human rights defender and coordinator of Bunge La Wamama Mashinani
