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{
    "id": 902489,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/902489/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 314,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Rev.) Waqo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13178,
        "legal_name": "Naomi Jilo Waqo",
        "slug": "naomi-jilo-waqo"
    },
    "content": "About four Bills on how to achieve gender equality have been moved in both Houses since the promulgation of the new Constitution. However, none has borne fruit. We all know what happened to the last Duale Bill that we all fought for. Many Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and the people who support women invested in it by holding conferences and creating a lot of awareness, but even this failed the last minute. The journey towards attainment of gender equality has been a long one for women in this country. However, Article 81 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) provides that not more than two thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender. Unlike several years ago, it is now common to find women in leadership positions around the world. In Kenya, since Independence, women have been under-represented in leadership positions. There is some remarkable improvement, but a lot needs to be done. One may ask: Why this Motion? Unlike men, women face a number of challenges to make it to a leadership position. Among them are cultural and religious considerations, where our religions bar women from leadership positions. We also know the patriarchal communities that are only led by men, where women are considered as children, including even a wise and intelligent woman. In fact, in my own culture, they say that women can only be big, but not intelligent enough. They believe that a young man of 18 years can be more intelligent and wise than a woman aged 50 years. There is also the issue of lack of finances to facilitate campaigns. This is what is known to all of us, because women are considered as property and the man owns everything. When a woman wants to facilitate her campaigns, she must beg and most of the time, end up not getting the approvals. The other challenge is a rough political terrain. As you are aware, campaigns in Kenya are not easy. From the way God created us, at times it is challenging to go through some of the experiences. It is even worse for pastoralist women to go through this. Other challenges include the process of relating to political parties, low levels of education and early marriages. Women are confined to domestic roles. As we are aware, they take care of their husbands, children, and that poses a big challenge. There is also media portrayal and voter perception of a woman‘s place being the kitchen. Most people believe that women belong in the kitchen and not outside the house. False perception and stereotypes have affected women. A number of people believe that women leaders will just present issues relating to women and children. There is also false implications that additional seats to ensure affirmative action will cause the country‘s wage bill to go up. We know very well that many people, The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}