This archive report was first published on 9 August 2019.
On Wednesday, the proceedings of Kenya's parliament were temporarily disrupted when a female legislator brought her five-month-old baby to the chambers.
Speaker Christopher Omulele ordered Zuleika Hassan, the Kwale Woman Representative, to withdraw from the chamber, citing that it was not the right place to care for her child.
However, a section of male MPs and women lawmakers supported Ms Hassan, urging her to stay put, which caused a standstill within the chambers.
Speaker Omulele called the sergeant-at-arms to evict Ms Hassan, who was being shielded by her female counterparts.
"As much as she has a right to take care of her child, this is not the right place, I therefore direct that you immediately withdraw from the chambers," Speaker Omulele ordered.
Ms Hassan addressed the press after leaving the chambers, stating that she had an emergency and decided not to miss work but come with the baby.
"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.
Kenyan MPs passed a motion in 2013 directing the Parliamentary Service Commission to set aside a room within Parliament buildings for breastfeeding mothers, a directive that has yet to be implemented six years later.
MPs Sophia Abdi Noor, Rachel Nyamai, and Sarah Korere expressed their disappointment at the lack of a breastfeeding room in Parliament, with Ms Korere accusing the PSC of ignoring the plight of nursing mothers.
