Kenyan Women Protest Political Gender Gap

The Kenyan Constitution stipulated that women should be given a third of seats in parliament and a third of appointed positions. Unfortunately, successive parliaments and also governments have failed to uphold this requirement, and the women are losing their patience. Women have come together to ensure that the condition is fulfilled and they are doing so through protests. Wangechi Wachira has been the organizer of the demonstrations and also a member of Centre for Rights Education and Awareness (CREAW), a women`s rights organization. After the re-election of President Uhuru, he appointed a cabinet that includes of all men and although there are vacant positions, the president must abide by the law and ensure that nine seats are given to women. More than 500 women carried placards and accused President Uhuru of making unconstitutional appointments.

The Kenyan women are calling upon President Uhuru to implement Article 10, Article 27 and Article 81 (b) of the Kenyan Constitution and ensure the freedom of the women. They spoke against gender discrimination. Despite the progress in the Kenyan Constitution, parliament has remained to be a male domain Kenya. Kenya has 76 female MPs which is just a fifth of the 349 seats. According to Wangechi, the parliament has been constituted improperly, and its operations are outside the law.

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