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{
    "id": 858319,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/858319/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 351,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Suba South, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. John Mbadi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 110,
        "legal_name": "John Mbadi Ng'ong'o",
        "slug": "john-mbadi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I rise to second the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that has been ably moved by my colleague, the Leader of the Majority Party, Hon. Duale. Today is a historic day. This journey has been long and winding. I remember we passed this Constitution in 2010. This issue of gender mainstreaming into the political discourse has taken us all this while to realise. In fact, at one point I asked myself how I wish when we were writing this Constitution, we included this aspect of the two-thirds gender principle under the Fifth Schedule to our Constitution. If we did that, I am convinced that today we would not be debating this Bill because it would have been actualised way before. Having said that, I want to remind Members that many of us are Christians and I am sure even if you read the Quran, you will get a similar provision, that we were all created in the image of God. All human beings are created in the image of God. Therefore, we are all like God. That means that we are all the same whether you are a man or a woman. Unfortunately, over the years, one gender has been discriminated not just in our society, but across the globe. All societies are working so hard to try to correct this discrimination and the disadvantage that one gender has been subjected to. Hon. Speaker, statistics have it that women or the female constitute over 50 per cent of our population. As a matter of fact, it is about 51 per cent in Kenya. A society that does not mainstream over 51 per cent of its population in political, economic and social activities risks stagnating in matters of development. I want to be very categorical that discrimination or disadvantaging any group of Kenyans in whichever way, whether they are youths, men or women must be corrected the earliest time possible. Hon. Speaker, this Constitution that we passed in 2010 is good. By the way, this Constitution we have today was the most debated before it was passed. It went through serious public participation. I do not think the Lancaster Constitution went through even a quarter of what we went through to discuss, debate and agree on this Constitution. I remember we campaigned vigorously to have this Constitution enacted. One of the provisions that we were citing as progressive in this Constitution was that of mainstreaming women in our political affairs. We went round preaching to our womenfolk how progressive this Constitution is when those who were opposing this Constitution were also mobilising to defeat it. We said that not again will our women be discriminated. Hence we put under Article 81 the provision that not more than two-thirds of the members of the elective public bodies shall be of the same gender. Article 27 which is in the Bill of Rights says that the State shall take legislative and other measures to implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}