Legislators vow to unite and pass two-thirds gender rule  

Members of the National Assembly have pledged to take a bipartisan approach in the latest efforts achieve the elusive two-thirds gender requirement in Parliament.

While meeting the East Africa Women’s League, the lawmakers including Leader of Majority Kimani Ichung’wah, Martha Wangari (Gilgil), Jared Okello (Nyando), Omar Mwinyi (Changamwe) and Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika Town) said the current Parliament will make sure the rule is realised.

Ichung’wah (Kikuyu) said they had embarked on a process of meeting the constitutional requirement.

“I say this as a father of four very beautiful girls. I know when we fight for women’s rights, we not only do it for them but also the society at large,” said Ichung’wah.

He added: “I commend the Women’s League for the work they have done over the years. I also encourage them to work with male legislators back in their constituencies to ensure that we pass the two-thirds gender rule.”

Hundred years

President William Ruto has promised to work with Parliament to implement the gender law.

Wangari said women are now more empowered.

“We have entrenched affirmative action in the Constitution. In fact, in this Parliament, we boast of 102 women who represent populations in different parts of Kenya, both in the Senate and the National Assembly,” said Wangari.

Okello said it was sad that women had been fighting for their rights for too long.

“A hundred years down the line, fighting for what is due to them is way too long but they are not losing hope,” said Okello.

Mwinyi said they will work with female legislators in constituencies to ensure they reclaim their seats.“For those who also want to become Members of Parliament, you should be assured that we are going to assist you. There is room for you to compete,” said Mwinyi

“In society today, women play a very important role. They are the ones who attend meetings in school. They are the ones who take care of the children, and they are the ones who even fend for the children. I think it is high time they raised the bar and came to the national limelight to serve this nation with distinction,” he added.

Ng’ang’a said Kenyan women had achieved a lot.

“That is why we are here today. We would like to remind everyone of us that these are the same women we went to school with in primary, secondary and shared university classes with,” she said.

Maraga advisory

In last year’s election, a total of 76 women were elected to the National Assembly. They comprise 29 elected to represent single member constituencies and 47 Woman Reps. In the Senate, there are three elected women and 16 Nominated.

Implementation of the two-thirds gender rule has remained elusive despite more than ten attempts by MPs to push it through.

The last attempt to implement it through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) collapsed after the courts declared the process illegal.

In September 2020, the then Chief Justice David Maraga issued an advisory to President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament because of the failure to implement the two-thirds gender rule. The advisory did not, however, take effect.

MPs were required to give effect to Articles 27 (8) and 81(b) of the Constitution to ensure not more than two-thirds of members in elective and appointive positions are of the same gender.

The law was supposed to have been passed by 2015, five years after the enactment of the 2010 Constitution, but subsequent amendments to the fifth schedule of the Constitution by the MPs saw the timeline extended.

Apart from BBI and Maraga’s ruling, several other proposed amendments to attain the requirement also flopped in Parliament, with one by the then Majority Leader Aden Duale in 2019 collapsing due to lack of quorum.