Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo.
Lawmaker Millie Odhiambo has stoked controversy by listing sexual favours as one of the paths some women follow to get an entry point into politics.
Describing it as the “bottoms-up” approach, Ms Odhiambo states that some women have no problem using romantic relationships if that is what will open doors for them.
In her new book Rig or Be Rigged?: Lessons for Women in Politics, Ms Odhiambo says that she has at some point been urged to do so to gain leverage, an option she refused to take.
“There was, for a long time, an unwritten rule that most women getting into politics had to use a bottoms-up approach. This was not, and is not necessarily true, though some women think it is easier to use this approach, first on party owners, and at times on financiers since elective politics is expensive,” writes Ms Odhiambo.
She then retells two instances where female politicians told her there was no problem with getting leverage in politics through this approach.
“Don’t be mean...” one woman advised Ms Odhiambo.
She had sought the woman’s advice after a male financier asked her for favours to fund her campaigns. In another instance, when she was under political attack, another woman advised her to use her body to secure a political reprieve.
“In her view, all I needed was to give [censored],” writes Ms Odhiambo.
The Suba North MP also recalls a case where a woman was frustrated by being denied victory despite winning elections. The woman was told to “see” a man known to take sexual favours in exchange for political protection.
“One woman MP told me she had vied twice in her party and was not successful even after a clear win. She was told to see him and he would help. She told me: ‘Millie, if [this] would earn me a certificate, why not? I did and I got a certificate.’ She was elected. In other jurisdictions, it would cost him his political career. In Kenya just classify him ‘sexually lethal’ and move on,” writes Ms Odhiambo.
The issue of sexual coercion for advancement has held back women’s careers, made others quit their jobs, and robbed others of their dignity.
To try and tame the vice, earlier this year, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris presented a petition in the National Assembly seeking an amendment to Kenya’s criminal legislation to deal with those who demand sexual favours to assist others.
“Sextortion has become a pressing issue in the country, causing immense harm to victims and eroding trust in public and private institutions. The demand for sex in exchange for essential resources, services and opportunities is both an infringement of human rights and a significant obstacle in achieving development goals, predicated on gender equality, transparency and accountable governance,” Ms Passaris said.
“Sextortion disproportionately affects vulnerable women and girls due to factors like poverty, lack of education, political disenfranchisement, and various disabilities, though men and boys can also be victims,” she added.
A fallacy
Although sometimes seen as the only way out, Ms Odhiambo argues that she believes a woman can make it without going the intimacy route.
“How you engage in politics is therefore totally up to you. However, it is a fallacy that you must be immoral to remain in politics. It is a fallacy that women in politics must compromise their values. It is a fallacy that you must use a bottom-up approach in politics to survive,” she writes.
“The truth is, for some people, the ‘bottoms-up’ approach appears to work. I don’t know how proud they are of it, since I have never been in that situation, but I suspect I would not be proud of myself if the only way I got to the top was questionable. As a professional, and as a leader, I believe you can make it and come to leadership on your terms, without feeling you owe someone when you don’t. Ultimately, of course, the choice is yours,” adds Ms Odhiambo.
Other ways that women can break into politics, she states, include taking a plunge into the deep end and figuring one’s way as one goes, being nurtured by a mentor, shadowing a politician, ignoring political parties and diving in as a lone ranger, and using the formal approach where one uses a political party and grows gradually upwards.
Ms Odhiambo’s observations on the “bottoms-up” approach have brought up the issue of sex for advancement, a matter many women know too well. Whether it is a job, a tender, or a promotion, among others, women are often required to get intimate with a male gatekeeper to get through. Last year, an expose by the BBC revealed how women were being sexually exploited by people in positions of authority in tea farms in the South Rift, which caused a major uproar.
According to the petition by Ms Passaris, sextortion is set to become a crime in Kenya.
“It involves coercion rather than consent, and our current laws do not adequately address or define it as sexual exploitation and harassment, which hampers effective prosecution and victim protection,” Ms Passaris argued when she faced a Parliament committee in September.
Women’s frustration
Nation Lifestyle spoke with various women who revealed how unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature affected their quest for new opportunities or turned the office into an unsafe space to work in.
Some say it makes them lose their confidence in themselves and their ability to do the work. Others say they have no motivation to pursue their dreams.
This year in February, Jane needed a loan to pursue a Master’s degree and applied in one of the government institutions that facilitate such. However, as soon as she stated her intentions, the lending manager had ulterior motives, and he acted on them like a hungry predator.
Even before Jane got to her home from his office, she had begun receiving inappropriate suggestive messages. Then the calls started getting in with him explicitly telling her that for him to approve the loan, she had to be intimate with him.
“He once called and told me we should discuss the loan in Machakos. My response was, ‘I don’t think you have offices in Machakos, so if you need anything discussed, we need to do that in your office...’ as if unfazed by my response, he continued saying, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy... but I cut him short and told him I was not comfortable with the conversation,” Jane says.
Frustrated, Jane confided with a friend who works in the same department as that lending manager, who revealed a deep-rooted menace.
“She told me that he (the lending manager) is always like that and prefers serving female clients as opposed to men. He also asks for sexual favours from his junior female employees,” she says.
With normal processing of such loans taking only a week, Jane received her regret letter shortly after.
“I just deferred my studies until I got enough cash,” she says.
Did she ever take any legal action? “At the time, no, because I did not have money. I wanted to take the case to the ombudsman but was advised otherwise.”
Another victim
A spot survey by Lifestyle shows a majority of career women have been sexually harassed. As a newly employed person, Linda, for instance, had written an article for the organisation that performed quite well, but she had not been credited.
Wanting the credit for her work, her then-boss responded, “We can’t have this discussion in here because we are all busy, but we can meet in town and talk about it on your day off.”
On her day off, as he had promised, this boss suggested that he and Linda meet at a restaurant in Nairobi. When she met him, he was in his car. She told him since it would not take long, he could as well share his answer with her in his car, and he agreed.
“He told me, I have the solution, we book a room to talk more.”
Linda refused, and he replied, “I’m willing to help you, but you have to use what you have to get what you want.”
Back in the office, this boss made Linda’s stay a living hell.
“He would shout at me for no reason and give me a lot of work, which made me leave work at midnight. I resigned,” she says.
A Sh50,000 apology
When Claudia was newly employed in this company, she had just cleared high school and was excited about getting work experience. However, the very first day, Claudia had leaned as she was being shown something on one of her boss’s computer when he said something inappropriate.
Not done with his advances, this boss later asked Claudia to drop some documents to his house so that he could sign them as they headed for an event. Since she lived 10 minutes away from him, she felt it made sense.
“When I got there, he had not yet dressed and requested me to get in and have breakfast. He gave me a glass of whisky and I was like, Okay, because we’re going to a party. I can as well start early,” she says.
No sooner had she started sipping the whisky than her boss came out of the room without clothes. “I was really shocked,” she says.
When she declined the advances, the boss gave her Sh50,000, saying, “This is not to quiet you but consider it an apology.”
Did she take the money?
“Yeah. My salary then was not even half that amount,” she says,
Claudia’s boss kept his word and made her not quit.
“Remember I had just left high school, didn’t have any other source of income, didn’t know where I’d get another job, wasn’t qualified and had no certification.”
While Claudia did not pursue the matter further, this occurrence awakened her. She knew that if somebody else pursued her like that in the office, they would face the disciplinary committee. Why did she choose silence?
“The first time, nothing happened. He did not touch me, never made my work at the office harder and did not insult me...he treated me with a lot of respect the whole time."
