NJOKI NDUNGU will forever be remembered for her role in giving Kenya a new Constitution and making laws to help women. Now, she wants to focus on her own life and start a family. She spoke to SHIRLEY GENGA and NJOKI KARUOYA
I feel humbled, amazed and honoured at having been part of history to help give Kenyans a new constitution. Now that the process is over, I feel a sense of relief and elation. The process was not an easy one as we had our fair share of challenges and disagreements, compromises and settlements, but that is the stuff a good constitution is made of.
The making of our new Constitution was a team effort and a historic endeavour made by many Kenyans.
Whereas I was privileged to sit in the Committee of Experts (CoE), there were thousands of men and women who served from the trenches for many years fighting against oppression and defending human rights.
Unfortunately, many of their struggles remain undocumented. I do hope that the celebration of Mashujaa Day (October 20) will recognise the efforts of these heroes and heroines by including them in our school’s history curriculum.
We should also recognise that the implementation of the new Constitution is not an event. It is process that will take months for some sections and years for others. We must set realistic timeframes and processes that will ensure the institutions are set up properly and work.
We must realise that our preoccupation with politics as a national pastime (because that is what we talk about ALL the time) is unhealthy, both nationally and on the individual level. With the new constitutional dispensation, we need to see things differently. If our daily news headlines were on our economic growth or success in sports or the arts instead of political brawling, more positive thinking will feed into a more progressive national psyche.
For me, making the new Constitution has been a personal journey that has lasted 18 years. I first joined the fight as a young activist in Fida Kenya in the mid-90s. I could never have imagined it would take this long! In the process, I also served in the United Nations, the African Union, Parliament and now in the CoE.
Highs and lows
What next for me? Politically I’ve been there and done that. What I enjoyed most in Parliament was the ability to make law. My highs were in the making of the Sexual Offences Act and the Employment Act provisions for maternity benefits and check against sexual harassment.
However, I really hate the intrigue that comes with political terrain — it’s ugly — and with that in mind, I certainly do not think I belong in active politics.
Before I joined Parliament, I never really understood why Martha Karua was so tough, but after spending time there, I realised why she was like that. I felt like I had been thrown in with sharks and I had to quickly learn how to swim or I would drown.
Politics can be quite nasty and people can get very personal. At first, Parliament was very intimidating. It was like being a girl joining a boy’s secondary school; lots of testosterone and big egos, literally (laughs).
I quickly learnt I had to be tough and refuse to tolerate nonsense. To make it in Parliament, you have to learn how to stand firm and be tough. You cannot let yourself get intimidated. It’s also a place where you have to work hard to earn respect, especially as a woman.
The most important lesson I learnt was that in Parliament, you have to find focus. As an MP one has the ability to create change through policy formulation and legislative reform. Laws bring change for people. Once you find your focus, you pursue the change you desire to see, a day at a time.
Negotiating skills
Fortunately, immediately I came into Parliament, I found my focus on women’s rights issues. The campaign to zero-rate taxation on sanitary towels was my first task. After that came the Sexual Offences Act 2006 of which I was the mover and architect. After the success of that Bill, I went on a roll and managed to move four other important legislative amendments — in the Employment Act 2007 was the maternity and paternity benefits, provisions on trafficking in persons, and the compulsory sexual harassment policy requirements for institutions.
Parliament actually helped me develop my negotiating skills and ability to advocate and influence legal reform and human rights in conservative and traditional decision-making bodies. I learnt that men can also become supporters of women’s rights if properly engaged.
The women I admire the most in politics are Martha Karua and Charity Ngilu. Martha is not only my legal senior but she taught me how to be no-nonsense and straight talking. In fact, she was my key strategist in passing the Sexual Offences Bill.
Charity is my mentor in the political world, and she also taught me how to dress properly. Being a lawyer, I wore dull black outfits, to the extent that I ended up on a media’s worst dressed MPs list (laughs). Charity took it upon herself to rescue me and recommended that I buy lady-like suits, jewellery and get my hair styled so that I stop wearing a ponytail all the time! I still use some of her tips.
People have been asking whether I plan to go back to Parliament but the truth is I’m not interested in going back. I did my part for women and human rights, now I must pass on the torch to others. I’m happy with where I am in my life.
I would love to find time and go back to school to do my PhD and the lecture at the university. Women must get educated up to the highest level because education is the path to empowerment and reduction of poverty.
I currently run the Leadership Development Company (LDC) where we develop policies for corporate and other institutions on sexual harassment and non-discrimination, including on ethnicity and disability policies, especially in the aftermath of post-election violence.
Besides this, LDC is involved in advising different public and private sector institutions on the Constitution. I also want to create avenues that will bring in more women leaders into the National and County legislatures and train them on how to draft Bills and move a policy agenda.
Tombstone epitaph
In 2006, LDC started the Big Sister Programme, which is a mentoring programme for young girls. This entails visits to schools where I do talks with other women achievers. We speak about everything — from sex to careers. When we talk about sex, we do it not in a boring and moralistic manner but in the way a big sister would discuss it with her small sister. In the last five years, there has been an increase in teenage pregnancy and I tell the girls that abstinence eventually results in better career choices and good income.
Everything, including sex, has its time and place. I always tell girls to be proud and value themselves, and that they should get money from their neck upwards (brain power) and not from the neck downwards (bottom power).
When I’m done talking to the girls, I always tell them of my dream to one day be the United Nations Secretary General. It’s my way of encouraging them to work hard and to never stop dreaming, but to keep challenging themselves.
I want to make Kenya a better and safer country. When I pass on, the epitaph on my tombstone should read: “Here lies Njoki Ndungu. She made Kenya a safe and better place for women to live in.”
