Women’s Participation in Constitution-Making Process in Kenya (S.3, Part 16)

Abstract

This 34minutes 11seconds–long video was recorded in June 2017. Lydia Kimani was born and educated in Embu. Her father was a District Officer and later a Provincial Commissioner while her mother was a member of the Maendeleo ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO). After completing her secondary studies, she went to pursue her university studies at Michigan State University, USA. When she returned to Kenya, Mrs Jane Kiano asked her to contest for the position of Chairperson of MYWO and she was elected. She was elected and served in that capacity for 17 years. In 1992, she got interested in politics and vied for the Manyatta Parliamentary seat. The election was marred with irregularities coming third in the race. She went to court but she lost the case. She continued working for women in Embu where she continued to empower women by teaching them civic education. She pushed for women in the DDC where she was a member. When opportunities arose such as the appointment of chiefs, she would ask women to apply and some were appointed. In addition to chiefs, Lydia helped women get into other leadership positions such as on local boards. Lydia also initiated a number of projects in an effort to promote women’s economic empowerment. These projects included the Embu Women’s SACCO but later collapsed due to lack of leadership, founded a women’s group that later bought a piece of land, a heifer project which helped in increasing the production of milk in Embu, and a credit scheme that enabled women to get into small businesses and get money to provide for their families including educating their children. Lydia was also active politically. She is a member of KANU and she was among those who pushed for the officials and delegates to be elected from the grassroots. When ODM was formed, she saw in it a party that stood for representation and issues. She was elected ODM deputy secretary general but on realization that she was not achieving anything as a representative of the Central region, she resigned. During her days’, women’s leadership was not easy, but she encouraged women to persist so as to bring about change. Lydia notes that there are many gains in the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, however, for women to realize these gains, there is a need for proper coordination and collaboration among the women’s organizations.