Orwoba exposes challenges faced by pregnant women in Parliament
By Mabonga Makhanu, February 7, 2026Former nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has come out to shed light on the hurdles that pregnant women go through in the Kenyan Parliament.
While speaking during an interview with Alfa House on Friday, February 6, 2026, the outspoken former senator contended that the Kenyan Parliament appears to have been designed more for men than for women.
She explained that the parliamentary buildings are not friendly to breastfeeding mothers, noting that the breastfeeding room is located several buildings away and near the toilets, forcing mothers to move quickly across buildings whenever they need to attend to their babies while still keeping up with parliamentary duties.
“You leave the building. You leave the second building, and you go to the third building. You cross the road. There is the breastfeeding, so you run there. You take your baby from the car, you run to whichever room, and the breastfeeding room is near a toilet, I don’t know what, and then you can imagine your motion is your cure. You’re cued on the order paper. It’s really, let me tell you something, some of these things, I really sit down, and I’m like, really, truly, Parliament was made for men.”
Orwoba further observed that pregnancy among female legislators is rarely visible because many women feel pressured to hide it due to bullying, targeting, and discrimination. She revealed that she once served with a nominated senator who allegedly concealed a full-term pregnancy to avoid harassment and exclusion from parliamentary activities, including committee work.
Parliamentary duties
She added that pregnant women are often sidelined from ad hoc committees and other assignments, effectively disqualifying them from extra responsibilities.
According to her, even opportunities such as travel are sometimes denied once a woman discloses she is pregnant, which she described as unfair and discriminatory.
“For instance, sometimes you have ad hoc committees where an issue has come up, like the Shakahola committee, and there are people who are more passionate with certain areas, so they’ll say, ‘Oh, but you know, so-and-so, you’re passionate.’”
Orwoba concluded by stating that being a woman in the Kenyan Parliament requires extraordinary resilience due to the challenges and expectations placed on female leaders.