This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On August 7, 2019, Kenya's parliament made headlines when Kwale Woman Representative Zuleikha Hassan was removed for bringing her five-month-old baby girl, Mwanabaraka, into the chamber.
According to Hassan, the incident highlighted the need for more family-friendly workplaces and sparked a discussion on the challenges faced by young women who feel forced to choose between family and career.
"It should highlight the challenges young women face," Hassan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone call from parliament in Nairobi. "If we now can have workplaces around Kenya that have nurseries - something so simple but with such a big impact - that would be a move in the right direction."
Rules for the lower National Assembly state that only elected politicians can be in the chamber during parliamentary business. However, authorities had pledged to build a creche for lawmakers in 2013 but failed to act for six years.
Following Hassan's removal, a parliamentary creche was installed, and she expressed hope that it would spark further discussion on the need for family-friendly workplaces.
"You want to have a family but you still want to have a career and we are always made to choose either/or," Hassan said. "We are able to do both but we need a bit of support."
