To honour Asiyo, women leaders must insist on decorum, dignity

Phoebe Asiyo during a meeting with women leaders organised by Democracy Trust Fund and Echo Network Africa dubbed Chagua Mama in Nukuru, on July 18, 2022. [File, Standard]

Mama Phoebe Asiyo will be given a state burial, as she ought to. The iconic Kenyan matriarch passed on two weeks ago, in the United States. She goes down in history as a phenomenal personality who brought admiration and decorum to leadership.

She will be remembered most for her quest for affirmative action, and contribution to women's rights as human rights, in Kenya and beyond. Yet, can she really be boxed in that corner? Asiyo was so much more, in her colourful career. She lived for others, and taught us to live for others, too.