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{
    "id": 740609,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/740609/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 203,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Nyikal",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 434,
        "legal_name": "James Nyikal",
        "slug": "james-nyikal"
    },
    "content": "Women do a lot of unpaid work such as childbearing and childrearing. It is such a big issue that many women cannot take up positions because they value that at the utmost. Those who want to take positions need to be supported. There is no problem with the issue of affirmative action. People are agreed. We start to have a problem when we come to the two-thirds gender rule. Article 27 (8) of the Constitution talks about two-thirds of appointive or elective positions and that is where we start to have problems. When you look at appointive positions or appointive bodies, there is no problem because you can achieve numbers through appointment. But when you come to the elective bodies, it becomes difficult. Article 81(b) of the Constitution states categorically that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender, and that is where we start to have a problem. This is because it is virtually impossible to predict numbers through an electoral process. Even if we have the sunset clause in 10 or 20 years, it does not solve the problem of achieving a certain number through an electoral process. We tried with Article 177 in the case of the assemblies and then stated that we will have special seats to ensure that in the case of the county assemblies, two-thirds are not of the same gender. That is achieved by appointing those two-thirds after the election. We have a problem with that. The problem is that if we use the same principle that we have in Article 177, then we are actually going to have a very large number in the Assembly which we seem to be afraid of. In fact, it will be as large as probably 450. I did this calculation with Hon. Shaban in a Committee and that is what happens. When now we want to use Article 177 and appoint people to fill the numbers, then we are faced with a very large Assembly."
}