Focus on women in politics

As parties prepare for Kenya's crucial presidential, parliamentary and civil elections, due later this year, where do women - one of Kenya's largest constituencies - feature in the political landscape? This time around, unlike previous elections, the stakes are much higher, and the political game is different. President Daniel arap Moi - who has ruled the country since 1978 - is expected to retire after completing his two five-year terms according to constitutional changes introduced in 1992 to accommodate multiparty politics in the country. Political parties in the country are banding together to form coalitions, and consolidating their alliances as part of their strategy to find a suitable successor to Moi, who is constitutionally barred from seeking another presidential term. So far, the number of women seeking to contest parliamentary seats has increased from a mere 48 in 1997 to about 80 in 2002, according to Cecilia Kimemia, executive director of the Kenya League of Women Voters. STIFF COMPETITION Kimemia fears that current changes in the political environment make the competition much stiffer for women, especially for party nominations, due mainly to the ongoing formation of political coalitions that have reduced the number of Kenya's 40 political parties. Alliances and coalitions are still being formed. "When parties come together to form coalitions, it means every party has someone in each constituency who wants to contest a seat, making the competition stiffer for women. I don't think alliances are good for women's participation," Kimemia said. Unlike 1997, when a woman for the first time contested the presidential seat, there is no clear woman presidential candidate this time nominated on any party ticket. Charity Ngilu, the 1997 female presidential candidate, will not be running this year. She has been slotted in for the prime minister post, under the National Alliance of Kenya (NAK) party, a coalition of 14 opposition political parties. Nyambura Ngugi, a programme manager at the Education Centre for Women in Democracy (ECWD) told IRIN that campaigns have so far been dominated by the succession debate, and very little attention has been given to issues like gender. "It will be very hard to bring back attention to issues. The debate is centred around succession, to the detriment of all debates that are going on," she said. ECDW is among the women's organisations carrying out a national programme aimed at empowering women contestants and educating voters in their respective constituencies. "This is a tough one. Women candidates are not getting a chance to talk. All ideas we had about elections have turned around. The rules are so different," Nyambura said. Alice Wahome, an aspiring parliamentary candidate, however considers herself a strong candidate for the Kandara parliamentary seat, in central Kenya, despite the facing competition from a line of 15 men. Wahome - a High Court lawyer, a member of the Law society of Kenya (LSK) and a former vice chairperson of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Kenya - told IRIN that women's rights in Kenya could only be realised if more space was created for women in the political field. FRUSTRATIONS WITH MALE-DOMINATED PARLIAMENT According to Wahome, FIDA has initiated a number of bills, notably the Equality Bill and the Domestic Bill, both which have been blocked by the male-dominated parliament. "This is a frustrating environment, because everything that you want to do must first go through the political process. Policy making is an important factor," she argues. "When you consider the work being done by women in this country, they leave it on the doorstep of policy makers. But men are ruining the show. The problem is that men are the gatekeepers, and they will try to keep women out as much as possible," she adds. Like Ngilu, Wahome is seeking parliamentary nomination through the NAK opposition alliance, which she says has more room for women contestants, as opposed to the ruling party, KANU. "We don't see women in the Rainbow Alliance [a faction within KANU opposed to Moi's party nomination plan]. KANU has no room for women's participation. The top leadership in KANU has no regard for women's issues. NAK is likely to embrace more women," Wahome said. POOR REPRESENTATION There are only seven women in Kenya's current 210-seat parliament, and only one has been appointed an assistant minister in Moi's cabinet. Yet women are said to account for 52 percent of the country's adult population and 60 percent of the voting population. KANU, which has been in power since independence in 1963, only appointed the first country's female cabinet minister in 1995. As a result of the poor representation, women in Kenya feel they have lacked a sufficient voice to push the enactment of laws that could enhance respect for women's rights and alleviate their economic marginalisation. Women's organisations are frustrated that their struggle has so far fallen on deaf ears in a male-dominated system. They argue that cultural indifference towards gender based crimes such as rape, domestic violence and female genital mutilation (FGM), is often exacerbated by the insensitive attitude of the police towards women who report such crimes. FGM for children under 18 has been outlawed under new child legislation which became law in December 2001. However, the practice is still rampant in many parts of the country where it is carried out clandestinely. Women's leaders attribute the generally poor status of women in Kenya to the country's social and political structure, which they argue, has been deliberately designed to deny women their rights. "It is a deliberate intention by men, they will not give you space. You have to go out and fight to get it," said Wahome. GENDER BASED ELECTION VIOLENCE There are also lessons to be learnt for women from the 1992 and 1997 multiparty elections, especially regarding violence that might be specifically targeted at them, Wahome added. "The lessons are hard and painful," she said. "Women have to be very careful and beware of the politics of name-calling and violence. It is not going to be easy. They [women] must be prepared to finance their campaigns and to lobby their parties to make them the preferred candidates." Studies conducted by women's organisations in Kenya also have indicated that election violence not only affects women candidates, but also women voters. Anne Gathumbi, the coordinator of the Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) told IRIN that gender specific violence, such as rape and threats of rape, were real issues of concern for women. She said women candidates faced violence from the communities which are not used to women's leadership, down to the family level. Culturally, the issue of where to contest is also complicated by the fact that women are generally expected to be in transition throughout their lives, Gathumbi added. Those not married are expected to leave and settle elsewhere, and those who are married are considered aliens. "The men have a lot of pressure from communities that are not psychologically prepared to have women as leaders," she noted. POOR MEDIA ATTENTION Women's rights groups in Kenya also point out that the media are a major obstacle, rather than an asset, in the fight for equality. They are currently unhappy with the lack of media focus on women's participation in the political process. Those women contestants who are receiving coverage, are getting attention for the wrong reasons, according to Kimemia. "Women are only being shown as part of the crowd, and not when they are articulating their vision. The media are not looking for women in the right places," she says. In their effort to improve the performance of women in this year's elections, women's organisations are carrying out activities aimed at supporting women aspirants for parliamentary and civic seats. They however regret that only minimal voter education has taken place in the country, despite a number of constitutional changes aimed at improving the electoral process. The changes include the use of any mark on the voter card, instead of the previously required X mark, and assistance in voting for disabled or illiterate persons. Vote counting also is expected to take place at polling stations, rather than at designated counting centres. But providing such information to voters on the ground will not be an easy task, Kimemia warned.