From a measly four women contesting parliamentary elections in Coast Province in 2002, the number has risen to 25 this year.

Although the presence of Coast women in politics has been rare since independence, the region produced Kenya’s first female freedom fighter. Way back in 1914, when most of Kenya was undecided on whether the foreigners arriving in their country were friends or foes, one woman would lead the Giriama people in a rebellion against British missionaries who were destroying their kayas – sacred forest shrines. Mekatilili wa Menza was captured and exiled to Mumias in Western Province for five years. 

Despite that early example of involvement in public affairs, women from Coast Province have claimed little space in post-independence Kenya’s political leadership. That jinx seems to have been broken in 1997, when former schoolteacher Marere wa Mwachai burst onto the national scene with her eloquence, emotional appeal and connection to ordinary people. She was elected Member of Parliament for Msambweni and subsequently appointed assistant minister for Gender, Culture and Social Services. It was the season of clover because Ford Kenya nominated another Coast woman, Ms Mariam Matano, to Parliament during the same term.

Although Ms Wa Mwachai lost her seat in 2002 in the anti-Kanu wave, she had established herself as the Iron Lady of Coast politics. Today she stands out as an inspiration to other women, and will face off with Sahmin Noor for the Msambweni. Ms Noor, who wants to run on the platform of alleviating poverty by improving the fishing industry and enabling it to flourish.

Ms Misha Juma, who is contesting the Likoni parliamentary seat, says: “A woman contesting in Likoni was previously [unheard of], but we are ready to change this mentality. We are proud of our former women leaders who set the pace for us, for example, Marere wa Mwachai.”

By 2002, battling against the anti-Moi tide that swept many Kanu candidates out of the field, Dr Naomi Shaban won the Taveta seat on the party’s ticket. She has been the only women in Parliament representing Coast, which has some 1.5 million voters.

Women continue to get the short of the stick on many fronts in the province. The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey of 2003 found that 29.6 per cent of women in the province had no education at all, compared to 10 per cent for men. Education for many girls is cut short at the onset of puberty, or even before, when they have to be married off to raise bride wealth for their families.

Culturally, the Mijikenda community, which is the most populous in the region, places great premium on girls fetching bride wealth for her family as early as possible. The variation to Mijikenda culture is Islam. Many lower Coast Muslims embrace a variety of Islam that encourages early marriage to save them from worldly influences. Such girls are only equipped with basic life skills and little emphasis is placed on formal education.

As a result, just 65.6 per cent of Coast Province women are literate, against 88.2 per cent for men.

The introduction of barely-matured girls to family life exposes them to health risks, such as early child-bearing and the attendant maternity complications. Women die younger than men, with a life expectancy of 50.8 years against 52.7 per cent for men.

Contrary to propaganda that women want to edge men out of leadership, it is all about quality leadership. Women are challenging fellow women just as readily as they are challenging men. Although Dr Shaban is running again this year, she is facing three women challengers – Ms Ruth Lelewa, Ms Ruth Mukumbula and Ms Chiku Wanje.

Taveta, which sits on the Kenya-Tanzania border, is open to the vagaries of transit culture. Ms Lelewa says there is a high incidence of HIV/Aids, a crisis that requires urgent solutions.

Coast Province has an HIV prevalence of 6.6 per cent for women and 4.8 per cent for men. These figures make HIV/Aids a critical issue for the electors and the candidates.

“I will enhance public education on this crisis to make people more aware of the pandemic,” she says. “I will ensure that people have equal opportunities to education by ensuring that the bursary fund benefits the needy and the orphans.”

Ms Lelewa is keen to empower youth and women so that they decide their own development priorities, as well as address the squatter problem. Taveta has the highest number of squatters in Kenya.

Landlessness is a crisis gripping the entire region. Coast Province has over 2 million squatters. For many of the women candidates, this is an issue close to their hearts.

Ms Chiku Wanje’s campaign is focused on more basic issues. “Most children in my constituency do not go to school due to hunger and they end up working in quarries, girls drop out of school at the ages of 10 to 12 years, pregnant. Poverty has reduced us to this…”

Poverty is at the root of many problems people face in Coast Province. Coast Province has the dubious distinction of being home to the country’s poorest constituency, Ganze.

High turnout
At five aspirants, Kisauni has so far attracted the highest number of women prospective candidates.

Mrs Alice Maitha, the widow of former MP Emmanuel Karisa Maitha, will be trying her luck, and so will Ms Amina Zuberi and Sara Nyamvula.

Others are Khadija Swale Hassan and Ms Maimuna Mwidau.

Ms Hassan is one the provincial coordinator of the National Council of Women of Kenya. Says she: “I have worked with women and the youth and most of them, I have found out, do not know their rights. Kisauni has myriad problems. The youth are unemployed and are, therefore, lost in drugs.”

Ms Mwidau was the Kanu candidate in the 2004 by-election and intends to make a second stab at the seat this year.

“My vision for Kisauni,” she says, “is to reduce poverty by creating employment for youth and women in the small scale sector.” She sees tackling unemployment and the festering squatter problem as having a knock-on effect on insecurity and other issues in the constituency.

Fresh perspective
There are others who would like to bring a fresh perspective to electoral politics. Ms Christine Kilalo, who is seeking the Voi parliamentary seat, believes that development would not be difficult and so slow if leaders were not detached from their people. Most leaders, she claims, want to do everything and end up doing nothing.

She proposes to create links in leadership from the grassroots to the top.

Ms Anna Mkan’gombe also wants to run for the Voi seat.

In Kaloleni constituency, Ms Esther Luganje seeks to offer leadership that will improve infrastructure and create wealth by empowering women through education. Ms Betty Masha is also interested in the same seat.

A similar theme will be running through Ms Janet Mbete’s campaign when she seeks to capture the Likoni seat: She would like to involve women and youth in all decision making committees at all levels and provide water supply to all villages. Another candidate for Likoni is Ms Margaret Lang’o.

Ms Zainab Chidzuga seeks to run on the platform of empowering women in Matuga by building the physical infrastructure and upholding the principles of good governance. She, just like Ms Seraphine Charo in Changamwe, is unfazed by the heavyweights she is up against.

Afiya Rama faces off with heavyweights Najib Balala and former Mombasa Mayor Taib Ali Taib in Mvita: “I’d like to see the youth prosper. I am not happy seeing our youth lie around idly because they have no jobs. They look like they don’t even know themselves,” she says.

Her focus is on women’s development to be encouraged by introducing water purifiers to save on the time spent fetching and storing it.

“If I am elected, the first thing I will deal with is education. Students who have done well at form four; many of whom do not have places to go to after completion of their secondary education. We have the rich tourism industry and we want our children to take courses that lead them into it.”

Lamu, being so cut off from the rest of the province and the country, has ambled on under age-old tradition for a long time. Yet, even here, women are demanding to be heard. Ms Shakila Abudalla brings a breath of fresh air to the community as the first woman to contest for the Lamu East parliamentary seat. She is full of ideas on what to do about the low literacy levels in her constituency and equip the district hospital. Next door, in Lamu West, Ms Nuru Salim, is challenging the status quo. As the initiator of Sauti ya Wanawake, she knows first hand what it means to have an informed populace. She has previously served as chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake twice.

Big names
Coast Province, too, has its share of big names in women’s leadership, and some will be trooping their colour at this year’s election. Mrs Rachael Dzombo, the Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Gender, Sports and Culture, is expected to take on Mr Joe Khamisi in Bahari constituency. Mrs Dzombo has held several high-profile positions in Government, including at the Ministry of Lands and Settlement, where her influence grew out of tackling numerous land issues. She faces off also with veteran Margaret Safari, who is also running on promises to provide water, build village polytechnics and offer training for women and youth on income-generating activities.

Another high-profile woman who is running for election is Ms Naomi Cidi Kumbatha. Ms Kumbatha, who is serving her indefinite suspension from her job as deputy managing director of the Kenya Airports Authority, made her debut in politics in the 2002 General Election on Kanu ticket and lost to Narc’s Lucas Maitha. Malindi, where she seeks to contest, has a majority of women voters.

Ms Kumbatha will not just be facing the old opposition in Mr Maitha. She will also have to contend with Ms Ruksana Noordin, who claims that Malindi women have been politically undermined for long because they do not know their rights.

“Women in Malindi have been sexually abused most of the time. I believe that the Malindi people have not attained their freedom yet. And I want to make sure that their freedom is realised,” she says.

“I want to improve the living standards of the community and ensure that there is no discrimination. There is child labour and prostitution. There’s corruption everywhere and the ordinary citizen has been deprived of her rights. The locals have got no land. They are squatters in their own country. What happens to all these people?”

Whatever the outcome of the elections later this year, one thing is certain: women are already changing the way public affairs in the province are run, and they will continue to influence matters in future.