Parliament has been urged to enact legislation that requires political parties to adhere to the mandatory two-thirds gender rule for top elective seats.
A report by the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) says the proposed legislation should compel presidential and gubernatorial candidates to pick running mates of the opposite gender.
According to the report, which evaluates Kenya’s women’s political representation in relation to the two-thirds gender rule, structural gaps arise from a political landscape deliberately designed to “favour” men.
Similarly, the report states that the gaps also stem from how multiparty democracy is organised, packaged and implemented.
“Parliament should strengthen institutional retribution mechanisms, including the justice system, to respond swiftly to and address gender-based violence during the political process. This should be executed promptly to deter perpetrators and send a strong warning,” the report states.
The report also recommends the enactment of requisite legislation to adopt multi-layered approaches to women’s representation, with political parties challenged to strengthen and enforce gender-responsive internal party structures to actively support women candidates vying for competitive elective positions.
Further, AMWIK is calling for the institutionalisation of civic and political leadership programmes that demystify gender stereotypes and strengthen women’s political legitimacy.
AMWIK Executive Director Queenter Mbori said the report is a call to action for stakeholders to increase the number of women in political leadership while putting in place a legal framework that creates an enabling environment for female aspirants.
While early struggles for women in politics focused on access and resource mobilisation, Mbori noted that the landscape has evolved, with the report documenting emerging barriers such as weaponised online violence, including social media attacks aimed at silencing women and eroding their mental health.
“Elections in Kenya have become financially crippling, disproportionately excluding women who often lack equal access to male-dominated campaign finance networks.
‘‘There is also a persistent lack of political will, especially within political parties, to enact binding legislative mechanisms for the two-thirds rule,” she noted.
According to Journalists for Human Rights Kenya Programme Coordinator Bernard Ogoi, who presented the report, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission should be assigned an expanded role, including the development of a robust and enforceable regulatory framework for the electoral process, complete with sanctions.
“For example, what happens if one is identified to perpetrate violence against women candidates through evidence? Such should be disqualified from elections and prosecuted. IEBC should collaborate with political party leadership to integrate two thirds rule within ethnic enclaves where party positions heavily influence outcomes. This will ensure eventual leadership meets the constitutional threshold,” he said.
The electoral body was challenged to integrate enforcement of the two-thirds gender principle into party nomination rules and ballot composition, in a bid to compel political parties to submit gender-balanced nomination lists as a prerequisite for participation in elections.
While pushing for introduction of a legal ceiling on campaign expenditure to prevent exclusion of women and youth, the report recommends capping of nomination fees.
According to the report, the non-compliance by Parliament in implementing the two-thirds gender rule through legislations remains a key legal setback.
At least five attempts to pass the not-more than two-thirds gender rule have failed in Parliament owing to a mix of factors.
For instance, Women Rights Organizations (WROs) perceived the attempts to abolish the 47 Women representatives seat as attacks on women’s representation and the gains of the 2010 Constitution.
“Political self-interests played a part in blocking the passage of the respective laws as some of the proposals directly threatened the political class positions, influence and access to resources. Poor messaging and advocacy in support of the legislative attempts resulted in a focus on the cost of implementing the not-more than two-thirds rule, with general public sentiments terming it wasteful and incompatible with fair competition,” the report says.
Inadequate implementation of legal frameworks, insufficient funding and slow transformation of patriarchal and discriminatory gender norms, attitudes and cultural practices among others continue to disadvantage women participating in political leadership.
The report states that Kenyan politics is premised on a deeply patriarchal system where men exert considerable influence on economic activities and social narratives including political conversations and leadership.