Gloria Orwoba: Women’s movements in Kenya have been captured and silenced
By Mabonga Makhanu, September 6, 2025Ousted nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has decried that women’s movements, which once stood for the rights of women, have been captured and silenced.
In a statement posted on her socials on Saturday, September 6, 2025, Orwoba lamented that most women’s groups that previously held leaders accountable have been shut down and intimidated into silence.
She noted that the few still speaking against injustices facing women are under-resourced and only surviving on the goodwill of individuals, insisting that change is urgently needed.
“The women’s movements in Kenya that held leaders accountable on women’s issues have been shut down and captured, and most have been intimidated into silence,” Orwoba stated.
“The few that have continued to speak up against injustices towards women are completely under-resourced and are literally surviving on the goodwill of individuals.”
She further cited past women leaders and freedom fighters, emphasising that the current state of affairs does not reflect the Kenya envisioned by trailblazers such as Phoebe Asiyo, Julia Ojiambo, Ruth Habwe, Grace Onyango, Wangari Maathai, Martha Karua, Charity Ngilu, Mekatilili wa Menza, Moraa Ngiti, Field Marshal Muthoni, and Mukami Kimathi.
“This is not the Kenya that Phoebe Asiyo, Julia Ojiambo, Ruth Habwe, Grace Onyango, Wangari Maathai, Martha Karua and Charity Ngilu fought for. Mekatilili wa Menza, Moraa Ngiti, Field Marshal Muthoni and Mukami did not sacrifice their lives for this eventuality,” she added.
Women charter
Days ago, Orwoba, who is widely recognised for menstrual awareness, came out during an interview stating that the women’s charter that UDA signed with women during the campaigns was never meant to be implemented.
She went ahead to add that even the women’s charter, which the president launched with women at Nyayo Stadium, included a promise that upon his re-election, women would be issued free nappies for their children.
She observed that after he took power, this pledge was abandoned, and none of the commitments under the women’s charter have been implemented since then.
This outburst from the nominated senator comes at a time when she has been thrown out of the Senate, with her slot being taken by Consolata Wakwabubi, forcing her to stage a protest outside the Senate chambers.