Former Nyeri Woman Rep Priscilla Nyokabi says female legislators face a lot of harassment in Parliament.

Nyokabi, who recently resigned from the National Gender and Equality Commission to vie for the Nyeri Senatorial seat, claims that gender-based harassment is rife and alive in the House.

The Constitutional and Human Rights lawyer who has served in various legal assignments including at the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Kituo Cha Sheria said she, alongside other female colleagues, had to propose enactment of policies to protect women legislators from unwarranted sexual harassment in Parliament.

“When I got to Parliament in 2013, I was still young and a greenhorn in politics and therefore thought gender discrimination was alien within the precincts of the hallowed House. I was therefore taken aback when I found myself on the receiving end of indecent sexual overtures from some members of the House. 

“Not even my strong links with Fida (Federation of Women Lawyers) and my no-nonsense approach to protection of women rights deterred these mafisi (sex predators),” she said during a recent Inooro TV Itugi talk show.

Nyokabi, however, paid tribute to the efforts to former Tetu MP and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai, Supreme Court judge Njoki Ndung’u (a former Nominated MP) and the wife of Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye, Winnie Byanyima, for spearheading efforts aimed at safeguarding the rights and dignity of women in the political offices.

Women rights

Nyokabi (pictured) noted that it was through such policies that women legislators managed to push for the enactment of policies that eventually checked the excesses of male MPs towards their female counterparts.

“We did manage to formulate policies and procedures to guide every MP on how to conduct himself or herself as far as matters of sexual harassment was concerned through the help of the Speaker. 

“At that time, the principles of Winnie Byanyima Besigye, Prof Wangari Maathai and Justice Njoki Ndung’u in clamour for women rights and their fight against any forms of sexual harassment came handy in our fight in bringing the trend to an end,” she told programme.

The aspirant also refuted claims that she was yet to resign from NGEC.

She termed the allegations as efforts aimed at tarnishing her reputation but insisted this would not deter her determination to bounce back into active politics.