| dc.description.abstract | Women’s role in governance has for a long time been downplayed not only in Africa but in the world.
Women are viewed as second class citizens who’s role in the society is to accept the status quo and
obey their male counterparts. They have been taught that it is in the men’s place to be right. That they
are the ones who make the laws, implement them and punish whoever is acting contradictory to the
law and for the women to be the foot-soldier and only obey as their told.
Women have not been taken seriously when it comes to governance with some having to force their
way so that their voices are heard. Some of these women have taken on advocacy roles so that they
improve the environment for future generations.
Women face a number of challenges when participating in political sphere. They lack the proper
knowledge with which to make informed decisions, patriarchal norms which always serve to oppress the
women and lack of proper means to access power. Over the years women and more so women in Kenya
have overcome such adversaries to take part in the country’s politics.
While there is still a long way to go, great strides have been made from when the country gained
independence to date. It is however important to evaluate ourselves (the country) at every milestone
and determine if that is where we want to be and if not what should we have in place in order to have
the desired goals.
Despite the hurdles that women face, they have had tremendous impact in the country’s governance
where they have been actively involved. It has been proven that an all-inclusive participation in the
society is the right way to go in as far as governance is concerned. The only thing that varies from
country to country is the political will to make this a reality. | en_US |
