Election of youth should inspire peers to seek leadership

The 2022 General Election in Kenya is done, and for the most part, dusted. The outcome shows 29 elected female Members of Parliament, and at least 95 female Members of the County Assembly.

The crown, of course, is seven female county governors! There is also who both stirred the public by winning woman representative and Member of Parliament positions, respectively.

For perspective, only 980 women ran for elective positions in 2013, 1,358 did in 2017, and 1,962 in this year’s general election. This year, 14,137 men contested for elective seats, according to IEBC data.

Prof Rayya Timmamy in her short story, Uteuzi wa Moyoni paints a picture that provides an apt parallel. Against all odds, which include patriarchy, social stigma, vilification and threats, Zena, the main character in the story, runs for office.

Zena’s character presents most of the historical origins of how and why women are systemically held back from running for office.

Boys' club

Politics is a closed boys' club that is brutal, competitive, slippery, unclean and difficult to penetrate! Generally, not the kind of space women are socialised to belong in.

As a writer who has witnessed and told stories of women breaking barriers in STEM, astrophysics, arts, boardrooms and businesses, it is my distinct honour, therefore, to join my country people to celebrate women, especially young women, who ran for, and won elective seats in Kenya’s 2022 poll.

Even though the increase has been dismal, the number heralds a generation of women determined to take up space in public leadership. As more women join politics and demystify the space, I hope the younger generations of women will extend their boldness to the political sphere.

Millennials have been touted as the generation overturning the old ways of doing things in workplaces – they are demanding to be seen, to be heard and to be met halfway by their employers, partners and friends. These qualities are important in elective politics where leadership is taken, not given on a silver platter.

Equal representation

It is my hope that young women who have won political seats will serve as a clarion call for more young women to step up and participate in elective politics.

Beyond politics, women leaders have demonstrated ability to rally their communities behind causes they are passionate about. As the natives of the digital space, young women also have the advantage of technology, which they can use to network, build support and allies, and strategise for career and business goals.

I would like to propose a toast. To more women in politics. To the recognition of the power of equal representation of all members of the society. Let’s toast to courage and to continued linkages of women, young and old, and to the women and men who provide shoulders and examples of magnanimous leadership!

We might be far from realising the two-thirds gender rule in elective politics in Kenya, going by the 2022 results, but we have models who will continue to hold the doors of elective politics open, for more women to get in.

The writer is a features writer at Nation Media Group. [email protected]