From: Ouko joachim omolo
Voices of Justice for Peace
Regional News
WHY KENYAN WOMEN MUST FIGHT FOR THEIR POLITICAL RIGHTS
From: Ouko joachim omolo
Voices of Justice for Peace
Regional News
BY CHRISPIN ONYANGO
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2012
NAIROBI-KENYA
My recent article describing how some two African women have made it for presidency for the first time in African history was quite motivating. This will pass message to some women who think they cannot make it to political arena because of lack of money.
Inset-Charity Ngilu and Martha Karua during Citizen TV Cheche show talks on their presidential bid recently/ File
Every woman should know that leadership is not all about money but the ability to deliver. Men are no better than women. Ancient Greek Philosophers like Aristotle and Plato held that women can never lead since they lack rationality and so they were compare to children.
It is quite encouraging that in Kenya some women have come up public to face men in 2013 general elections. Charity Ngilu and Martha Karua have declared their bid for presidency as former Benedictine nun, Placida Awuor becoming the only woman who has publicly declared her ambition to vie for Siaya senate seat on an independent ticket.
Awuor is to face Lands minister James Orengo and Finance assistant minister Oburu Oginga who have also declared they will view for the seat. She says she is the bridge to the change for which Siaya County has been yearning for. Ms Awuor holds a Ph.D in political science.
The same scenario is to be found in Migori where Prof Collete Suda is the sole woman running for senator. She is an expert on gender and social development, who until recently was the secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development.
Suda is to face Mr Oluoch Kanindo, a former Education assistant minister, and Migori county ODM chairman John Magaiwa who have declared their interest for the seat. In Kakamega County, Prof Shanyisa Khasiani has also declared her interest on senate seat while UK-based Mabel Muruli wants to be the first governor.
At 39-years old, being one of the youngest women among other women contenders, Faith Maumoh will face former Attorney-General Amos Wako and Chris Okemo. She will vie on Narc-Kenya ticket.
In Kisii, the ODM chief executive officer Janet Ong’era is to face Foreign Affairs minister Sam Ongeri, his Public Works colleague Chris Obure and former South Mugirango MP Omingo Magara on senate seat.
Kisumu County also leads in the number of women who have shown interest in the governor’s seat. It has attracted three women aspirants who are seeking the ODM ticket.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s sister Ruth Adhiambo Odinga, Atieno Otieno, a lawyer, and agriculturalist Rhoda Otieno Ahonobadha have their sights on the seat. So far, no woman has shown interest in the senator’s seat.
Their entry into political arena will diminish the mentality that Kenyans seem to have of women leadership. While I implore more women to come out in big number in this noble field, it is unfortunate that women often become their own worst enemies and pull down what they are supposed to nurture and protect.
A group of women recently were telling me that there is nothing a fellow woman can do that men cannot do if elected to political office. Kenyan women must learn to appreciate that leadership is a matter of “the anatomy above the neck” as the late Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai had put it in her autobiography.
They must also see beyond the horizon and take note of iron ladies like the Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Malawian President Joyce Banda the first African women Presidents. Leadership by women is no fairytale!
The small percentage of female MPs in the current Parliament have surpassed public expectations and done the country proud. Some have headed ministries while others have contributed to legislation aimed at promoting healthy society.
We also remember the late Hon. Prof. Wangari Maathai who was a scholar of reputation and an internationally renowned environmentalist. Now this is enough evidence that women too can deliver and ward off male chauvinism and domination and have a voice of their own.
I recently had a chance to discuss the issue of tribalism with some prominent women who were on an exchange program in one of the local learning institutions. We concluded that if we have to uproot this vice then children must be socialized from a young age in order to appreciate one another.
The same approach can be used regarding women’s insubordination. Right from the cradle, girls should be taught to stand up for their rights and not see basic rights as privileges extended to them by “caring” men. For the better part, negative ideologies are used to show women how “weak, unable and incapable” they are and so the weak ones surrender their rights to hawkish men, who plunder them with relish.
Women should be fearless if they are to make any headway in politics. And they must unite and “die” for their political rights. Simply sitting back and waiting for manna in these matters has never worked in any part of the world, and Kenya is no exception.
To borrow the words of Martin Luther King Jr., I have a dream: Women can turn things around if they want and fight for leadership. The coming General Elections are a perfect chance to start the great march to freedom from political subjugation. The sooner you begin the race the higher chance to take a better position. Please run!
Yet representation in the 10th Parliament attests to this fact as there is not a single elected female legislator from either region. Millie Odhiambo, an ODM nominated MP, is the only woman from the region who sits in the House.
According to Mr Tom Mboya, a political scientist from Maseno University, the region will begin to count the gains in gender equity by the number of elected women to various seats “but not those granted to them by the Constitution”.
If this happens, then for the first time in their political history, Western and Nyanza provinces could be headed for leadership change if the number of women aspirants who have declared interest in various elective positions realise their dreams.
Apart from positions of women’s representatives expressly set aside for them, several key posts like governor, senator and MPs have attracted women contenders who are promising to give the men a run for their money.
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Applying the social justice values of Catholic Social Teachings Africa Forum for Catholic Social Teachings (AFCAST) Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations (HIPSIR) Pax Romana (Kenya) – Movement of Catholic Professionals
Venue: Hekima Institute of Peace Studies & International Relations (HIPSIR) Date: 13th October 2012 Time: 8:30-5:00 PM Delegate speakers from:
Kenya: Mr. Moses Abira, Uganda: Oketta Jasper, Tanzania: Prof. Beda Mutaghyawa
Zimbabwe: Elizabeth Chikomo, Malawi: Dr. Gerard Chigona, Zambia: Dr. Kaputo Chenga, Rev. Dr. Elias Omondi Opongo, SJ, AFCAST Regional Coordinator Mrs. Dadirai Chikwekwete, Administrator, AFCAST Headquarters, Harare, Zimbabwe Mr. Fredrick Wamalwa, vice president, International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs (ICMICA) Catholic Professionals in the Electoral Processes in Africa Today Keynote address: Catholic Social Teachings (CST) and the role of Catholic Professionals in promoting CSTs by Fr. Elias Omondi Opongo, SJ, AFCAST Regional Coordinator & HIPSIR Lecturer.
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
People for Peace in Africa
Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com