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{
    "id": 1028610,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1028610/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 275,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Murang’a CWR, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Ms.) Sabina Chege",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 884,
        "legal_name": "Sabina Wanjiru Chege",
        "slug": "sabina-wanjiru-chege"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support this Sessional Paper No.2 of 2019. When we talk about gender, we look at women, men, boys and girls. A lot of people have spoken in support of the Sessional Paper, especially on the gap we have in gender legislation and participation of women. A lot of the times when you talk about gender equality and discrimination, this nation’s policymakers tend to look at only Parliament on legislation. However, I am sure if policymakers look at participation of all genders in health, education and other areas of the Government, this issue of gender inequality and discrimination will be a thing of the past. I happened to be involved in looking at the new document that is the talk of town, the BBI and one of my concerns was about the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and the gains that it has given to the women of this nation. Some of us, like I, got to this House through the affirmative action as a Woman Representative. I am currently serving my second term. What has been worrying is that even when people give a lot of lip service and say that they support women leadership, we are still tied by a patriarchal system, cultures and religion in our society. Women are still seen as belonging to the kitchen and not meant to go out there to offer leadership. I want to thank the drafters of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, because they gave us an opportunity to showcase that what a man can do, a woman can do better. At this level, if you look at the BBI document, I want to urge the women in this House that we have been given an opportunity where we will not have to come back to this House and ask its Members to pass a law that is supposed to give us gender equality. I was in the 11th Parliament, and we went out of our way as women leadership to take the men in the House for a dance. We offered dinner, but at the end of the day, the ones who could not say openly that they were opposing the two-thirds gender rule Bill, went to the lounge to tell stories so that they were not seen to be opposing the women. It has been mentioned that the women of this nation are 52 per cent of the population. So, we need their participation in all levels. At this point, I want to urge the women of this nation to support the BBI. We have a permanent solution for the two-thirds gender rule. If you go to our universities - I am back to school and that is why I requested to speak early - majority of the students are female, even in my class. In our constituencies, the majority of the people who are leading songs and actively participating in school meetings are women. Where do we lose it as a nation that we do not have women as the majority in leadership? As the Constitution says, the sovereignty of this nation is key. People should be allowed to vote for the people they wish to become their leaders. That is the spirit of the BBI Report. I urge Kenyans to give women a chance. If that fails, we have a permanent solution that has been offered by the BBI Report. Hon Sossion has brought up the issue about sanitary towels. It is something that we struggled with when I was the Chair of the Departmental Committee on Education and Research. When sanitary towels were taken to the Ministry of Education, they could not reach the girls in schools. When it came to gender, the Woman Representatives did a great job by going to schools. That only lasted for one year. I hope the Committee that deals with issues of gender will give a permanent solution. Currently, our girls are at home. They have no sanitary towels. How do we reach them? There are several initiatives that are on the ground. I have seen several Members trying to give out sanitary towels. Unfortunately, our teenage girls are getting pregnant because they cannot afford to buy sanitary towels. So, as we look at reopening of schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic, even if it is next year, we as Members of Parliament and the Ministry of Education must make sure that the girls who were unfortunate to get pregnant are given a chance to go back to school to get their education, so that they can support their children. 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."
}