National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has said Parliament is keen on passing the Article 100 Bill this year.

Constitutionally, Parliament should have passed the Bill that seeks to enhance the representation of women, persons with disabilities, youth and marginalised communities by August 2015. That did not happen, but even after extending the period by a year, no effort has been made to pass the proposed law.

This calls attention to yet another section of the Constitution that has not been implemented five years after its legal deadline. Several attempts to have Parliament operationalise Article 81(b) – the two-thirds gender representation rule – have so far failed, having been fought from both inside and outside Parliament on the assumption that it favours women. In fact, the debate on the two-thirds gender rule often degenerates into an ‘us versus them’ gender war.

This year, Parliament has a chance to redeem itself. While Article 100 is not confined to gender, it provides an opportunity for better representation of women in a predominantly male Parliament. The passage of Article 100 offers hope for the youth, persons with disabilities and marginalised communities. But the question is, if parliamentarians have so far defeated attempts to actualise the two-thirds gender rule, will they agree on an Article that pushes for greater women representation?

The country shall hold Speaker Muturi to his word. The continued under-representation of women and treating them like they are second-class citizens is unacceptable.