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Why gender agenda did not gain momentum in elections

Monday, 22 April 2013 10:34 Larry Kimori

Kenyan women had little to celebrate about on March 8 when the world celebrated International Women’s Day.

The day was marked quietly as Kenyans came to terms with the results of the March 4 General Elections. The results also served to affirm fear by women that the political arena was yet to embrace their bid for leadership.

None of the hundreds of women who contested the six elective positions were elected to senior posts like President, Senator and Governor.

The few who sailed through were elected to the National Assembly as MPs and or women’s representatives, while the rest were elected country representatives.

The theme of IWD was most appropriate for Kenya, if the voters were to promote it, as the country faced the first polls within the new constitutional dispensation.

It was marked on March 8, right in the middle of the tallying of the presidential at Bomas of Kenya, which had most Kenyans glued to the radio and television screens anxiously waiting for the final outcome.

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Election pacts push women to the side lines

Thursday, 07 February 2013 12:52 Wanjiku Mwaura

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi joins in a dance shortly after he was endorsed as the Amani Alliance flag bearer as political parties rushed to craft pacts ahead of the elections. Women hardly featured in the pacts. Political pacts crafted ahead of the elections have left women aspirants reeling in confusion.

The Constitution notwithstanding, women have been sidelined in key positions in the ‘coalitions’ before the General Election in March. For now, a conscious decision to include women in political parties as required in the Constitution seems to have been overshadowed as big parties like ODM, TNA, URP and UDM among others craft their ‘winning strategies’ in the coalitions that have taken a male face.

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Glaring gender inequality

Wednesday, 06 February 2013 13:25 Faith Muiruri

Political parties remain defiant of affirmative action rule and fail to pick women

Failure by political parties to uphold the gender principle in the nomination of candidates across the board is likely to solidify gender disparities that have been entrenched over the years.

The Constitution notwithstanding, the bid to increase the number of women in political leadership has yet again suffered a devastating blow after women performed dismally at all levels of the primaries with majority choosing instead to take refuge in the 47 seats reserved for Women (County member of the national assembly).

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Aspirants speak out against violence during campaigns

Thursday, 20 December 2012 00:00 Odhiambo Orlale

Ms. Vesca Kangogo tells women to ignore their detractors and instead sell their agenda. Picture: George Ngesa

Women aspirants in the country will have to contend with all manner of hurdles before they can ascend to leadership positions.

Eldoret based human resources consultant who is vying for the Uasin Gishu County Governor’s seat says most female aspirant drop their political ambition midway as the murky political field turns chaotic.

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Inequality in gender representation is a recipe for conflicts

Tuesday, 18 December 2012 12:19 John Ndeta

Participants at a past training. The cultural socialisation of Kenyans does not encourage women to participate in politics. Picture: Courtesy AWC The latest gender gap index report ranked Kenya women poorly compared to their counterparts in East Africa. Kenya is ranked 72, behind Tanzania (46), Uganda (28) and Burundi (24) in a study of 135 countries globally.

The World Economic Empowerment annual Global Gender Gap report released in November in Geneva; Switzerland indicates that Kenyan women fair badly on political empowerment.

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