Experts have taken an integral role in advocating for gender equality and pushing for equitable gender representation in leadership positions.
Dr. Teclah Tum, the former Nandi County Women Rep and a task force lead for the Multi-Sectoral Working Group (MSWG) on the realization of the two-thirds gender principle, stressed that the Constitution accords women and men the right to equal treatment and opportunities in economic, political, and social spheres.
She made the remarks when she led the MSWG during a public participation forum held in Kisumu County on Thursday.
The citizen engagement exercise seeks to collate views from Kenyans on the modalities for the actualization of the not more than two-thirds gender rule.
The gender-equity rule, noted Dr. Tum, is yet to be realized many years after being enshrined in Kenya’s Constitution.
Dr. Tum stated that Kenya’s Supreme Court in 2012 had recommended that the matter should be addressed progressively to fulfil the constitutional requirement.
“The recommendation mandated the government to establish a framework but to date, there is no framework or a policy on the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule. That is why the Multi-Sectoral Working Group was formed to move around Kenya to seek the views of people at the grassroots on the best ways of implementing it,” Dr. Tum said.
The task force seeks to review the law on the two-third gender principle to pave the way for its full implementation.
This, she added, would remedy the under representation of various demographics including women, youth, people with disability and marginalized communities in the political and governance spaces.
“Currently, the elective and appointment positions in the government are falling short of the two-thirds gender rule. Article 27(8) of the Constitution states that there should not be more than two-thirds of either gender in any elective or appointive position. This creates the need to address these groups which have been discriminated against for a long time,” Dr. Tum stated.
The Chairperson of Maendeleo ya Wanawake Kisumu County Chapter Caren Aketch underscored the need for the review to address women’s predicaments in attaining leadership positions.
“We were hopeful that the introduction of the two-thirds rule in the Constitution was going to address the issue of female representation in various cadres of leadership. Unfortunately, this was never enforced,” she lamented.
Aketch added, “We hope that this review will address some of the concerns and obstacles that prevent women from taking certain positions.”
Notable stakeholders including the Kisumu-based Civil Society Organizations and CRAWN Trust who attended the public participation forum reiterated the need for a speedy enactment of the law to promote inclusion in all areas of leadership.
The ongoing public participation exercise will be conducted in 10 regions before the team retreats to analyse the data and forward the final report to Parliament for ratification.
By Robert Ojwang’
