| dc.description.abstract | It is clear from the responses that women's leadership in Kenya is still held captive in the patriarchal
cauldron in which most Kenya communities find themselves.
A glance at available statistics on women's representation in national legislation around the world
points at a dismal picture - America (31 %), Europe (18.4%), Sub-Saharan Africa (16.6%), Asia
(15.9%), Pacific (13.9%), Arab States (6.8%) - (IPU, 2006)
In women politics, America lags behind, it ranks ss" in the world, despite Senator Hillary Clinton
running for presidential nominations. An equally able woman, Senator, Sarah Palin is John
McCains's running mate. Sarah is already being ridiculed; her past and family background used to
discredit her efforts. Many say she is charismatic but unqualified
The above reality rarses a fundamental question as to the impact of the wave of the 1990's
democratization in Africa and the world at large. What difference has it made to gender dynamics
and women's representation in political processes in the democratizing countries?
National legislatives are the basic institutions within which laws which govern contemporary societies
are made as well as the site where national priorities on public revenue, expenditure, development
funding and allocation of national resources - both material and symbolic are determined.
Accordingly, representation of the various diversities of any given state in this institution is critical to
a wholesome policy making process to democratic practice.
My study shows that the limited, almost negligible participation of women in the Kenyan political
space/ process is a function of the social division of labour, the rigid dichotomization of the public
and private spheres, the social construction of the political realm as a man's domain, and the general
perception of politics as 'a dirty' game. The general nature of the political institutions is also a
function of the historical events.and cultural milieus within which they are located.
This project opens with an introduction and background information to the study. It is followed by an
attempt to interpret the perceived subjugation of women in both public and private spheres.
A glimpse is given into the barriers to political space for women and strategies to increase women's
representation.
As of now a third of forty cabinet ministers would ideally be 13, that should have been the minimum
number of current women ministers instead of the seven in the coalition government. This omission
is more acute if you factor in individual partner party pledges. ODM, KADDU, DP and Labour Party
for instance, significantly upped the gender agenda by offering to reserve half of available places to
women under their administration. For PNU, DP and KANU, the bench mark was 30%. But it must
have resulted to strange arithmetic to arrive at three women ministers as constituting 50% of its share
of20 ministerial slots. It gets worse in the judiciary and legislature. Of the 7 Court of Appeal judges,
only one is a woman. No woman MP heads a single parliamentary committee.
Furthermore, women are conspicuously rrussmg in essential House Teams, including the
Parliamentary Service Commission and the two watchdog committees, The Parliamentary Accounts
Committee and the Public Service Committee. The same story obtains in other visible appointments
in the public sector. In the last appointments of ambassadors, last September, only 2 of the 12 were
women. Of 65 permanent Secretaries and Secretaries of Special Presidential appointed units, a paltry
5 are women.
As indicated earlier the systematic political marginalization of women in the political arena and
decision making goes back to the period prior to colonization and therefore has roots in the colonial
legacy that is actively perpetuated by the post-colonial political elite. However, all is not lost, Kenyan
women are struggling for recognition. Hon. Martha Karua's bid for the presidency in 2012 is a brave
move that should be supported. It is hoped more good women will rise up to this enormous
challenge.
The survey tools used for data collection for this project paper have been appended at the end of the
paper for cross referencing by interested users. | en |
