This archive report was first published on 10 August 2019.
On August 7, 2019, Kwale Woman Representative Zuleikha Juma Hassan made headlines by bringing her five-month-old baby girl to the National Assembly Chamber, defying security protocols and sparking a heated debate on women's rights and parliamentary security.
Ms. Hassan argued that she was agitating for the issues affecting women, especially those who lack basic amenities like crèches at their workplaces, making it difficult for them to attend to their children, including breastfeeding, whenever needed.
She claimed that she had no intentions of going against the Standing Orders, which govern the conduct of MPs, and other persons inside the Chamber or within the precincts of Parliament.
Ms. Hassan said she had been having problems with who to leave her children whenever their nannies called in to say they were sick or had an emergency. With no intentions of staying at home and missing her parliamentary duties, she resolved to carry the baby to the Chamber.
She later sneaked into the Chambers through the rear entrance, past an absent-minded orderly, and went straight to the front row where she started breastfeeding her baby.
Temporary Speaker Christopher Omulele (Luanda) ordered her to leave the Chamber immediately, a decision Ms. Hassan termed harsh.
However, the management of Parliament later ordered for the hurried refurbishment of the nursery at Continental House, where MPs have offices, after Ms. Hassan made her point.
The National Assembly denied claims by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) that Ms. Hassan and her baby were manhandled, stating that the Standing Orders obligate the Speaker to order a member who conducts himself or herself in a disorderly manner to leave the Chamber.
