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{
    "id": 638963,
    "url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/638963/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wandayi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2960,
        "legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
        "slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
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    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Speaker. At the outset, I also wish to support this very progressive Bill. This Bill could not have come at a better time. We are going to defend and support it very vigorously on our side. It is a fact that women have been disadvantaged over time on account of traditions and cultures. Therefore, the only way you can bring them up to the same level as men is through affirmative action such as what this Bill is proposing. Any person who means well for this country must support this Bill. It is not possible for us to imagine that women can go out there, compete, beat men and come to this House. It has been tried and failed. I also understand that women do not like electing fellow women for reasons I cannot understand. The fact of the matter is that we have to do something to catapult women to the same level as men. As we debate this Bill, I also reiterate what my friend, Hon. Sakaja, has just said, that political parties themselves must take definite steps to address this imbalance at the stage of nominating people to contest for those elective positions. Political parties must demonstrate their commitment to this affirmative action and to the gender parity principle by doing what they should do under the Constitution. We know that some of those political parties are actually owned by men. It will do us a lot of justice if these parties would go an extra mile and encourage women to participate in nominations and nominate them. That would reduce the eventual cost that this Bill portends for the country. It is also a proven fact that women leaders have not been a disappointment across the globe. Many women who have held positions of leadership have not been a disappointment in comparison to men. In fact, very few women leaders have been prone to scandals. You can mention a number of names starting with Margaret Thatcher and Benazir Bhutto. Even though the current President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, has problems here and there, she is trying. Here in Africa, we have very many women leaders like Ellen Johnson in Liberia, Joyce Banda and Winnie Mandela. Locally, we have the late Wangari Maathai, our own Ida Odinga and many others. We need to support this Bill if only to ensure that the constitutional provisions are adhered to. As we support this Bill, it is important to reiterate the fact that there is no way you can envisage achieving total development if a good proportion of the population, which is women, is side-lined. Unless you provide them with the opportunity to be in positions of leadership, you are essentially side-lining them. A people side-lined cannot participate meaningfully in the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}