Phoebe Asiyo also became the first African woman head of the giant Maendeleo ya Wanawake, which she later left for elective politics.
In between fighting for the education of the girl child, women's rights and gender equality, she became the Member of Parliament for Karachuonyo Constituency in 1980 and served until 1983, when Parliament was dissolved.
The Chair of the Caucus for Women Leadership since 1997, she also served as a member of Parliamentarians of Global Action and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Fund for Women for the past 17 years.
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In 2009, Phoebe Asiyo, recipient of the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya, became the first woman elder, a rarity in most of Kenya's 42 communities, including the Ameru and their Njuri Nceke, and the Mijikenda and their Kaya.
The Chair of the Luo Council of Elders, Ker Riaga Ogalo, attended as did Phoebe's hubby, Richard and their two children, Aseto Asiyo and Dr Mary Asiyo, who jetted in from Germany.
The former Commissioner with the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission was installed as an elder according to Luo customs and traditions.
That included being crowned with a ligisa (Luo traditional cap) and an orengo (flywhisk), a goatskin apron adorned with beads and seashells and a matching skirt.
The ligisa, which is handed over by an in-law, symbolises that a woman belongs to the community, while the orengo is a sign of power and leadership for which Mama Asiyo had the distinction of being the longest-serving woman MP in her time.
She vied and served two five-year terms: 1979- 1983 and 1992-1997, a record that has since been broken by, among others, Beth Mugo with her third stint as Dagoretti MP.
It is interesting to note that Phoebe's Affirmative Action motion in Parliament was defeated in 1977, but was later implemented in full after being returned by Beth Mugo, 23 years later!
This story is an updated version published in 2020.