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"id": 224337,
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"speaker_name": "Ms. Ndung'u",
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"legal_name": "Susanna Njoki Ndung'u",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. We also need to address the issue of people who prey on our young girls. When I was much younger, we used to talk about sugar-daddies and the way they prey on young girls, yet nowadays we just let sugar-daddies pick our girls from schools, impregnate them and then dump them, not knowing that such girls drop out of school, and that they become challenged in terms of future educational prospects. This House enacted the Sexual Offenses Act, which provides that if one has sex with a child under the age of 18, they should go to jail. I am yet to see the police or anyone else arresting any one of these sugar- daddies for doing this thing. We cannot be passing laws here that are not implemented. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, another thing that affects girls' attendance at school is the issue of the monthly periods that they get and their inability to afford sanitary towels. This House, through the Budget, zero-rated sanitary towels, but still in rural and peri-urban areas, sanitary towels are not available to girls. So, when they have their periods, they stay at home. Even when examinations take place, they face this challenge. That is why they do not proceed to the next level of education. Secondly, our message as leaders also has to be to parents about how we are raising our young boys. I think girls are over-burdened. They become house maids. They become like mothers and look after children, while their brothers are out reading books, or enjoying their lives as children. Therefore, we need to focus on how we are bringing up our boys, and apportion responsibilities between our boys and girls. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, an attempt to criminalise Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) was rejected by this House, yet we can see from the Press that this is one of the critical challenges facing the girl child in relation to her education. So, I want to appeal to hon. Members of this House to allow another Motion to be brought here to criminalise FGM. This time round, let us look at it seriously and ensure that we take responsibility, as national leaders, and criminalise this practice. I would like to say that education for girls has benefits. One of the benefits that you can even see in this House is quality representation. It is true that we are only 18 women out of 224 Members of Parliament. Right now, we, female hon. Members have over 22 per cent representation in this Chamber. Out of the 204 men, less than 20 per cent of them are in here to debate this Motion. So, it is clear that we need some more women in this House. Let me encourage hon. Members of this House to not only support the issue of affirmative action that is coming up through the Minimum Reforms, but to also support the proposed amendment that is coming up to 908 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES April 25, 2007 ensure that political parties do increase the number of women in their leadership in order for women to benefit from the Political Parties Fund, which we will be debating in the course of the week. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}