By Ebi Kesiena
Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA) has challenged women in Wajir to seek leadership positions.
KEWOPA chairperson Leah Sankaire and member of the National Assembly of Kenya, Fatuma Jehow, while on a sensitization tour of the region on Saturday, stressed that there is a need to have more women in leadership positions as a way of promoting gender equality.
Wajir is the capital of Wajir County of Kenya and it is situated in the former North Eastern Province.
According to Sankaire, women and girls have to break the barriers and aim to take up leadership roles despite government reluctance to attain the two-thirds gender rule in the country.
“The future is women. That is why I want to encourage girls and women from northern Kenya to work hard and take up leadership roles. As a woman, just know that you can become anything…governor, senator, MP, or even president. Yes you can,” she said.
On her part, Woman Representative, Hon Jehow lamented on male-dominated leadership and local politics, stating that this was due to cultural norms that have locked women out.
“This has been a major impediment to women in their efforts to take up leadership or participate in key decisions in society or even family. Clans have also posed a major hindrance to women, not only in Wajir, but across the entire region,” she said.
The association, whose members are women parliamentarians from across political parties, works to promote and protect democracy and advocate for women’s rights.
Part of their efforts has been the push to attain the two-thirds gender rule, which Kenya has failed to achieve. Despite election promises to promote gender parity in government and the two-third gender principle in other public appointments, President William Ruto’s cabinet failed to meet either threshold.
Even parliament, which saw the highest number of women elected to the National Assembly and Senate since independence, also failed to achieve the two-thirds gender rule.
