Kenya is on course to reinforce the not more than 2/3 gender rule, even as women from across the country continue to share their views on modalities of implementing the same.
The co-chair of the multi-sectoral working group on the realisation of the 2/3 gender rule, Daisy Amdany, while speaking at Machakos Social Hall, said they are collecting views from the public on what they think is the most appropriate framework to fulfil this constitutional requirement.
The multi-sectoral working group is made up of a cross-section of Kenyans ranging from civil society organisations, trade unions, state agencies, religious groups, and the private sector.
Amdany, who is also the Executive Director at the Community Advocacy and Awareness (CRAWN) Trust, added that they have more members and other public hearings happening concurrently across the country so that they can have a comprehensive report.
Being a woman’s rights enthusiast, the Co-Chair said that the need for public participation countrywide was prompted by the fact that the framework for the implementation of the 2/3 gender principle at the national level has been elusive.
She highlighted that since the 2012 Supreme Court advisory, there have been requirements for parliament to put in place the necessary laws that will ensure that, at the national level, they fully implement the 2/3 gender principle.
“As things stand right now, the National Assembly and the Senate are not compliant with the constitution, which means the threat of dissolution is still alive,” said Amdany.
She said that as a nation, there is no running away from this concept because the not more than 2/3 gender principle is docketed in the Bill of Rights, and the latter being an integral part of the constitution, it has to be implemented.
“We are here, where we must make proposals for consideration by parliament for the implementation of the 2/3 gender principle, which is a constitutional requirement,” Amdany pointed out.
She, however, noted that the principle is not about women but about Kenyans, about equality, justice, participation, and inclusion, which are national values and principles.
Present at the meeting was the former Nyeri County Women Representative, Priscilla Nyokabi, who had also vied for the Senate seat. Nyokabi has been a keen follower of the 2/3 gender rule and hopes that it will be finally implemented in Kenya.
Nyokabi lamented that the 2/3 gender rule is a leadership question for both men and women so that the people get good leaders, but in the proportion that is required by the constitution.
The former MP pointed out that there are several reasons why women have not been elected, and partly they include electoral and gender-based violence as well as cyberbullying, which should be criminalised under the electoral offences act.
“It should be a criminal offense for those who use social media to abuse women and circulate videos that defame them,” she said.
Nyokabi said one of the proposals they have made during the public participation regarding the 2/3 gender rule is that the formula that is used in county assemblies should also be used in the national assembly, the Senate, and the national executive.
By Anne Kangero
