In 2013 for instance, a record of 86 women parliamentarians joined the National Assembly, a historical achievement by any measure having come from close to zero representation in the house.
However, long before equality, inclusion, and diversity became common concepts, and women could actively demand space in sectors dominated by males in the country, there was a group that stood out. Their voices and deeds represented what their fellow women desired.
Many barriers blocked them from reaching their goals, but they pressed on and they stand out when it comes to politics.
When politics was politics, there were pioneer women who were trailblazers at a time when it was hard for them to have a voice, but once they stood up to speak even the male dominants remained at bay paying attention to what they had to say.
THE STANDARD By
Grace Ng’ang’a |
March 8th 2021 at 00:00:00 GMT +0300
The history of women questing for political leadership in the country is an interesting chapter in Kenya’s democratic evolution and shift towards the inclusion of marginalised groups.
There is more to be celebrated than denigrated on the struggle women gone through to have a voice and be heard at a table of men.
Leaders of the feminist movement endured a lot before a way was made for them to have a presence in political leadership.
But the discourse of the feminist struggle has been waning over the years and the women’s movement that was vibrant in the 1970s through to the 1990s, dedicated towards total liberation of women, is now playing lip service to the cause.