Beyond barriers: Female politicians redefining motherhood and leadership

Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika has once again captured national attention, but this time, not for her trailblazing political career. The seasoned politician recently announced that she is on maternity leave, a revelation that has sparked spirited discussions across Kenya and beyond.

As the first female governor to give birth while in office, Kihika is not only challenging societal norms but also defying age-related assumptions, being over 50 years old.

While some have celebrated her milestone as a testament to women’s ability to balance leadership and family, critics have raised questions about whether childbirth might interfere with her demanding gubernatorial responsibilities.

Her absence from public engagements over the last three months stirred speculation, amplified by a viral “Missing Person” poster humorously implying she had abandoned her county duties.

“Missing Person; Governor Susan Kihika; 51 years old; last seen three months ago boarding a plane to the USA. She has not returned to Kenya since,” read the poster in part.

The designed poster humorously urged anyone who had seen Kihika to inform her that the USA was not Nakuru County or call the county government.

Yet, in a statement addressing the uproar, Kihika reassured Nakuru residents that her administration remains steady and that she will resume her responsibilities soon.

Kihika is married to Sam Mburu, a prominent businessman who has links with influential politicians in the current Kenya Kwanza government.

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Joined politics

Kihika was married to Mburu in a traditional wedding on November 7 2020 at her parents' rural home in Laikipia County. The ceremony was graced by President William Ruto, who also took part in the dowry negotiations.

Kihika began her career as a lawyer in Dallas, United States of America where she established The Kihika Law Firm, which specialised mostly in representing immigrants. After 20 years in the United States, she returned to Kenya in 2012  and joined politics.

Her first stab at politics saw her lose the Bahati parliamentary seat to Kimani Ngunjiri in 2013. She later contested for the Nakuru County Speaker’s seat where she defeated 7 opponents to emerge as the first Assembly Speaker of Nakuru County.

In 2017, she contested and won the Nakuru senatorial seat on a Jubilee Party ticket.

As the first female senator in Nakuru, her political star was on the rise, and in 2018, Kihika was elected as the first vice president of the Bureau of the Forum of Women Parliamentarians.

In October of the same year, Kihika took over first as the acting President and later as President, replacing Ulrika Karlssin of Sweden. And on August 9, 2022, she contested and won the Nakuru gubernatorial seat on a UDA ticket.

She defeated Lee Kinyanjui of the Jubilee Party to become the first woman governor of Nakuru. She is commonly referred to by her county people as the Woman of Firsts.

Last year was particularly a fantastic time for female politicians keen on expanding their families.

Community worker

UDA-nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba gave birth. She took maternity leave, just like the rest of the women, to raise her child.

Orwoba was pregnant with the former Ghanaian President John Kufuor, who lost his wife in October 2023.

She attended a virtual meeting just a few hours after giving birth on November  28, 2024. This was testimony that giving birth cannot stop women leaders from performing their jobs.

Orwoba was born on May 25, 1986, in Nairobi. She attended St. George’s Girls’ Secondary School in Kilimani, Nairobi, before gaining a diploma in architecture from the University of Nairobi,  she subsequently obtained a degree in social work.

In 2017, Orwoba contested for the Kisii County Executive for the Youth; she was ultimately unsuccessful.

In 2019, she moved back to Kenya permanently and stated her intention to run as the UDA candidate for the Bobasi constituency in Kisii County.

She lost the primary to a male candidate whom she accused of corruption.

Orwoba worked as a community worker and initiated the Uji Ya Glo nutrition programme, which provided a cup of porridge and two slices of bread each school day at thirteen primary schools within the Bobasi constituency.

As a member of the UDA, she has been an outspoken supporter of the Kenya Kwanza government,  praising President William Ruto’s focus on inclusion and empowerment for all groups within the country.

Orwoba was nominated as a senator in 2022, representing women, young people, and people with disabilities.

As a senator, Orwoba has become an advocate for the rights of women and has called on the government to do more to respond to the issue of menstrual periods.

She has blamed patriarchal power systems and a lack of knowledge among men about menstruation as exacerbating the issue of period poverty, citing the fact that condoms are available for free in the country while tampons are often expensive.

She has cited the 2019 death of Jackline Chepngeno, a 14-year-old girl from Kabiangek in Bomet County who committed suicide after being period shamed by a teacher, as making her a period poverty activist and making her want to address the taboo around menstruation.

In 2023, she tabled a motion calling on the Ministry of Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action to provide free sanitary products for all schools in Kenya.

In addition, she has also requested that all schools be equipped with the correct equipment to dispose of feminine hygiene products.

Here is a look at female politicians from Kenya and elsewhere who have given birth or are expected to deliver their bundles of joy while in office.

Bosom friend

Last year, Geoffrey Kimutai, husband to Bomet Woman Representative Linet Toto, confirmed the birth of their child. He also revealed the baby’s gender while celebrating his wife’s birthday. Linet is a mother to a baby girl.

Taking to his socials, he captioned: “Linet Chepkorir Toto, You are my bosom friend, my privado, my soulmate, and a mother to my beautiful princess. You are turning a year older, but to me, age doesn’t define my love and moments that I will live to cherish with you, forever I will do... YES, I will do that as long as we are still alive. Nicole and I wish you a very happy birthday, darling. You are our happiness. We love you, Mom.”

Toto kept the news of her delivery hush-hush. Unlike most people, she did not share the news of her delivery on social media. Toto is a first-time politician and the youngest among those who were voted in during the 2022 general elections.

She shot into the public limelight after the  August 9, 2022, General Election where was the youngest woman to be elected to the National Assembly, as the Woman Representative in Bomet County.

Toto is the third-born child of Leonard and Betty Lang’at of Chemomul, Bomet County.

She went to Kapsimbiri Elementary School, where she sat for her KCPE and later on joined Kapsimbiri Secondary School before transferring to Siwot Secondary for her secondary education.

She graduated from Tharaka University in April 2021. She married Godfrey Kimutai on l March 4, 2023, in a traditional Kalenjin Koito ceremony.

Former ODM nominated Senator Daisy Kanainza Nyongesa welcomed her son while serving Parliament between 2013 and 2017. Her supportive husband arranged for a limo to ferry her back home. Sometimes, in 2018, Ziwani MCA  Millicent Wambui delivered her baby while still in office.

Another notable politician who gave birth while in office was former woman representative Priscillah Nyokabi. In 2016, Nyokabi delivered a baby boy, announcing the news on social media:

“I thank God for the blessing of a baby boy named Kiiru after my father-in-law. Mum and baby are recovering well,” she wrote then. Some female politicians have faced severe political attacks for not having children.

In  2017, Jacinda Ardern, a New Zealand politician, reacted angrily to repeated questions about whether she plans to have children.

“It is unacceptable to be getting those questions in 2017,” Ardern was quoted saying in a section of the media.

So what added scrutiny are female politicians under, and conversely, can mothers sometimes use their family lives to their political advantage?

In Australia, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard faced criticism for not having a child.

In an editorial, the Sydney Morning Herald wrote:

“Her media persona does not fit the expectations of some voters: a single woman, childless, whose life is dedicated to her career.”

This was one of the kinder comments. While leading Australia, Ms Gillard was called “deliberately barren” by a senator from another party and a “childless, atheist ex-communist” by a rival from her party.

She fought back against personal attacks against her, most notably with a searing tirade against the leader of the opposition, in which she said:

“If he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he needs a mirror.”

Back home, political analyst Gitile Naituli, a professor of leadership and management, says that despite changing roles in society, the prominent idea of women is that they are mothers.

“The stereotype of women as primary caregivers is still very much a lens that we like to see women through,” he told the Nairobian, adding:

“There’s also a trope that gets rolled out about career women. That if a woman doesn’t have children, she has sacrificed that for her career,” he added.

Prof Naituli says families have become more important in politics as we “become more interested in the personalities or politicians. Men seem to have an opt-out clause for discussions of family, which women don’t”.

In Germany, former Chancellor Angela Merkel was affectionately called “mutti” (mum) by many Germans, but she has no biological children.

It is not common knowledge why she does not have children, and it is not a topic covered by the press. Germany has strong privacy laws, and the media is much more policy-oriented than elsewhere.

But that did not stop a political opponent trying to weaponise the issue during a tricky time.

Back in 2005, Angela Merkel was running against her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, and it was his wife, Doris Schröder-Köpf, who commented she did “not embody with her biography the experiences of most women”.

It was an apparent reference to her not being a mother.

‘A very real stake’ in the future

This telephoto readers familiar with the Andrea Leadsom/Theresa May story from the UK last year.

Both women were vying to become the leader of the same party, a leadership that would make them the prime minister.

Mother-of-three Mrs Leadsom told a daily newspaper that being a mum meant she had “a very real stake” in the country’s future.

It was interpreted as a dig against Mrs May, who had no children. The comment backfired, and despite an apology, the episode brought down Leadsom’s leadership bid.

But it still showed how a woman politician without children may find her childlessness used against her.