This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
Kenya: Female MPs Unite in Push for Gender Bill ¶
Published on November 26, 2019
Women leaders from both the 'Embrace' and 'Inua Mama' camps have vowed to continue championing the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule in Kenya's Parliament.
The bill, which seeks to bridge the gender disparity in the House by amending the Constitution to allow for extra nomination slots for women, has flopped in Parliament a record five times.
Under the theme 'a common women's voice agenda', women leaders from both camps said they will not give up on the Bill and called on both the National Assembly and the Senate to respect the Constitution.
Addressing the press in Nairobi, the women leaders said despite their political differences, they will speak with one voice on matters affecting women.
"While it is true that there is division among us, there is no harm in that because women too have different perspectives but on issues affecting women we will fight from one corner," Ms Priscila Nyokabi from the Embrace camp said.
Chairperson Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa) Purity Ngirici from the Inua Mama camp reiterated that they will continue to safeguard gains made by women under the constitution as they push for the passage of the bill.
"The mission and vision of both camps are women's needs, they all focus on economic empowerment for women and equal representation," Ms Ngirici said.
The women leaders protested the recent move by the Senate Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to reject a proposed law to get more women into Parliament through the implementation of the two-thirds gender principle.
The Constitution states that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective bodies can be of the same gender.
