Male chauvinism has no place in Parliament

Recently, a male colleague threatened to inflict violence on me and Homa Bay Woman Representative Gladys Wanga whilst the House was in session.

In a recent forum on women’s agenda, NARC-Kenya party leader Martha Karua commented that her middle name was not “deputy”, a subtle but canny remark on the widely popular discourse that a male presidential candidate should be deputised by a woman.

A decade after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution that heralded a new era for gender equality, it is disconcerting that the highest political office women are perceived fit for is that of a deputy president, notwithstanding the fact that we’ve had women presidential candidates in the past.

The fear, and dare I say, hatred for women in senior leadership positions by Kenyan men is a residue of deep patriarchal biases that continue to hurt women and men alike.

This predominant attitude that refuses to go away is prominently espoused by men in leadership positions who, unable to see their female-counterparts as equals, occasionally reveal their true colours when they let their guards down.

It is no wonder that a female legislator from North Eastern was openly assaulted by a colleague within Parliament precincts in the full glare of witnesses.

Recently, a male colleague threatened to inflict violence on me and Homa Bay Woman Representative Gladys Wanga whilst the House was in session.

In both cases, the outrage was swift and immediate. TV panelists chimed in and Twitter activists condemned the act in the strongest terms possible.

Sadly, the news cycle is short, constantly in search for new, sensational stories to feed the masses with. The era of clickbait journalism and trending topics does not make room for deep introspection.

In an environment where hypermasculinity is normalised and championed by elected male leaders, it should not come as a surprise that a majority male Nairobi County Assembly nurtured a hostile environment for Speaker Beatrice Elachi, staging a forceful and violent ouster and attempting to block her triumphant return, more than a year later.

Even before I became an elected member of Parliament, I had my fair share of encounters with this special brand of misogyny.

First it camouflages as concerns about competency and ability. It then evolves to question your marital status.

And finally, it reveals itself as nothing but open disdain for an empowered woman able to lead an industry, an organisation, a household. Every woman has, to a to a certain degree, encountered this male entitlement for power and control.

Award winning and renowned public relations guru Gina Din, widely successful in her own right, caused a stir on social media when she recently tweeted: “In my 34 years of corporate life, 22 years as an entrepreneur and as a woman business owner, I have come to understand that no one is going to hand us power, we just have to take it”.

Predictably, a man quipped: “Don’t be so spoiled because you will never become a man”. The logical fallacy exhibited in that reply is, sadly, a common occurrence in the digital space.

As an active user of social media, I have had innumerable run-ins with (mostly male) commenters, ready to ‘put me in my place’, whatever that maybe.

Missed opportunity

The recently concluded conference on Population and Development (ICPD+25) held in Nairobi was a missed opportunity for Kenyan men to engage in the global conversation on the inherent rights of women and girls.

Marred by calls from religious leaders to cancel the meeting, many failed to understand the importance and relevance of the topic at hand.

Few read beyond the words, ‘Abortion’ and ‘Feminist’. For the record, abortion is a human right enshrined in our constitution and I’m a proud feminist, learning and unlearning every day.

But patriarchy cannot be dismantled by a few high-level side events. In fact, a woman’s conference is not the right place to wage this war.

Patriarchy must be fought in locker rooms and boardrooms. The discussion must find its way in ‘male spaces’, it must ask the men in the room to come to terms with their privilege and understand the direct cost of it to women and fellow men.

It is only there and then, that Kenyan men will come to grips with their discomfort for women in positions of leadership.

 

Ms Passaris is Nairobi Woman Representative