This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
On August 8, 2019, the National Assembly in Kenya was temporarily disrupted when Kwale Woman Representative Zuleika Hassan brought her five-month-old baby into the chambers.
Standing Speaker Christopher Omulele ordered Ms. Hassan to leave, citing that the chamber was not a suitable place to care for her child. However, a group of male and female MPs supported Ms. Hassan, leading to a standoff.
Ms. Hassan was eventually escorted out of the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms, but not before she addressed the press, stating that she had an emergency and had to bring her baby to work.
"I had an emergency and decided not to miss work but come with the baby. She is not an atomic bomb and can't explode," Ms. Hassan said.
MPs had passed a motion in 2013 to set aside a room for breastfeeding mothers, but this has yet to be implemented six years later.
Female MPs, including Sophia Abdi Noor and Rachel Nyamai, expressed their disappointment and frustration over the lack of support for breastfeeding mothers, both in and out of Parliament.
