This archive report was first published on 7 August 2019.
On August 7, 2019, a disturbing incident unfolded in the Kenyan parliament when Kwale Woman Rep Zuleika Hassan was asked to leave the chambers with her five-month-old child.
According to reports, Ms. Hassan had received an emergency call and had to bring her baby to parliament, where she was subsequently ordered to withdraw by the standing speaker of the day, Christopher Omulele.
The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) has strongly condemned this incident, labeling it a clear case of discrimination against the mother, child, and the Kwale County electorate.
NGEC Chairperson Joyce Mutinda emphasized that motherhood should not be a basis for denying nursing female MPs the opportunity to conduct their legislative duties.
NGEC has called on the Parliamentary Service Commission to swiftly establish a crèche to accommodate nursing MPs and their children, a measure that has been mandated for six years but remains unimplemented.
