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{
    "id": 32263,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/32263/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 432,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "41 Thursday, 11th August, 2011(P) Mrs. Odhiambo-Mabona",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, as the women’s sector we have moved from far; that is from Mexico in 1975, when we held the first international conference of women - I doubt if I had gone to school by then, but I will check - to Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies - I remember I danced in Nairobi as a student – to Beijing in 1995 and to New York in 2000. Ms. Karua is convincing me that she went on and the journey continues. It is not easy. It is not enough that it is in the Constitution and that is why we are challenged that we are like chicken which have been set free and they cannot move. If you have been put in darkness for long--- I was in the National Youth Service – the pre- university thing - and the day we were released we started running and screaming because we thought people were chasing us. This is because we had been locked up for three months, such that when we were released, it looked odd and we did not believe it. In the same manner, this is not an instantaneous thing for women. So, we must be patient with women because the Constitution has given us these rights. But it is difficult. Not only is it difficult but--- I will give you an example of an advert that was run today by the Panel that is recruiting staff for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. When you look at the qualifications that they set out from a gender perspective, very few women will be able to apply. That is because one--- I have worked with the police even on issues of victim protection. Many of the police centers are very unfriendly to women. You are now telling them to apply and get clearance. Why can you not ask them to give certificates of the people who have been shortlisted? We are setting standards where gender discrimination is very subtle. It is not about telling women that they are excluded. It is about telling women--- For instance, you are advertising and you say: “You will be expected to work until 6.00 a.m. in the morning. You know that there are very few husbands who will let their wives to work until that time. I want to support and, in concluding, I want to say that I support two Commissions. I am supporting the Gender Commission and the Human Rights Commission only. In future, when we get to a level where we are comfortable, as a country, with issues of gender inclusion, we will need to restructure the Commission back to one, so that we can save the resources of this country. We should not create big entities that the country cannot afford. With those few remarks, I beg to support."
}