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{
    "id": 740651,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/740651/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 245,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Baiya",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 8,
        "legal_name": "Peter Njoroge Baiya",
        "slug": "peter-baiya"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I support this Bill. I join my colleagues who have spoken in support of this Bill. This is one provision of the Constitution that the country has had a lot of challenges implementing. We believe that these challenges have not yet been overcome. In fact, the way we have gone about to implement this matter has ended up creating more challenges. The genesis of this is a constitutional provision which, in itself, no one has a controversy with. It is because the basic principle is contained in the Bill of Rights under Article 27. It is a fundamental principle of equality and freedom from discrimination. This is the provision of the Bill of Rights that states that nobody should be discriminated on the basis of gender, sex, creed or religion. It is a principle found in nearly all societies that lay claim to any democratic credentials. The other constitutional principle that this Bill seeks to implement is about the election system of the country and some of the minimum standards set out, especially in Article 82 (2) of the Constitution. Indeed, not more than two-thirds of members of elective public positions shall be of the same gender. Even though we are talking about the threshold of one-third in our country, the gender status is more or less equal. It is a reflection of our cultural background that we have a problem achieving this one-third threshold. More importantly, it has been a challenge for us to enact legislation in this regard. But if you really look at the constitutional implementation requirement, it requires us to not only amend it, but to even come up with other mechanisms. Article 27(7) and (8) of the Constitution clearly makes it imperative for the State, including the Legislature, to come up with legislative and other affirmative mechanisms to overcome past discrimination and bring parity in areas where there has been marginalisation, which includes the area of gender imbalance."
}