Truth is gender rule never stood a chance

Women in Kenyan politics live a life balanced between the whims of patriarchy and the politics of the day. Even the fiercely independent and outspoken women who start strong end up being sucked into the muck.

They learn quickly and painfully that the survival guide for politics does not have a chapter on gender parity.

That legislators are pushing for the abolition of the controversial gender rule because “it’s impossible to attain, as voters can’t be compelled to vote for a woman candidate in a democratic exercise” illustrates this point beautifully.

They should pat themselves on the back for proving what we have always known: that it would have taken a miracle for the Gender Bill to be enacted. There have been four feeble attempts to do it so far. Now they want it deleted through a referendum. Tap your neighbour and say “Politicians!”

Murky arena

First, we need to acknowledge that ‘Impossible’ is meaningless in the lexicon of politics, for we have witnessed so many impossibilities unfurl from that murky arena.

For example, who could have thought that a county could buy a wheelbarrow at Sh100,000? Voting, too, is saturated with bribery, violence and incitement, so being “compelled to vote” is not the question here. The problem is whether a female candidate stands a fair chance in an emaciated democracy.

Many studies on the issue have concluded that violence, discrimination based on gender and societal norms like patriarchy have contributed to the women becoming flower girls in political weddings.

The few “difficult” women who refuse to sing in the complacency choir, like Martha Karua, often find themselves fighting lonely battles. She recently declared, during a radio interview, that Kenya is ready for a female president.

Too idealistic? Maybe. Ordinary Kenyans might be prepared, but politicians have consistently proved that they are not. Those opposed to affirmative action assume that politics is a gender-neutral game, but there’s overwhelming evidence which indicates the opposite.

Two-thirds rule

Deputy Minority whip Maoka Maore said that executing the two-thirds rule amounts to preferential treatment of one gender, which can’t work in elective posts. The clarification he needs is that those who are pushing for better representation of women in politics dream of a time when the ground will be levelled for them to compete for elective posts with men. The Gender Bill is just the first step towards that dream. Women are not seeking favours.

Abolishing the Gender Bill might seem like the last nail in the coffin, but it’s just another nail. The Bill never really stood a chance because, a decade after the promulgation of the Constitution, the people we entrusted with its implementation are still bickering over it.

@FaithOneya; [email protected]