BY ANN KIGO
Debates on the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule are as old as the rule itself- it is not an easy implementation. There have even been threats sometimes that Parliament could be resolved because they have not implemented the constitution well, particularly this rule. The implementation of this rule requires affirmative action in order to make sure that enough of the female gender occupies at least a third of all elective and appointive positions. However, a closer look at the lifestyle of the modern woman and the beliefs that they stand for suggest that this may not be the woman to be given positions on a silver platter. Here are two reasons why:
The modern woman is an independent woman with the slogan ‘what a man can do, a woman can do better
The modern woman’s independence has been fought for over decades through education scholarships, grants, and lots of advocacy for their liberation. A big reason why woman was always considered a minority that needs affirmative action to have a say, is that they did not have equal opportunities in the past, and so they ended up the uneducated lot that was condemned to bearing and rearing children and cooking for the family. This has changed, and we cannot say in Kenya what we have today that women are not educated. In most parts, they have had equal opportunities for education- in some places outdoing the now endangered boy child, and it is unfair that after that, the men have to fight for positions while these women get them for free.
Corruption- Many women who get these positions do not use them for the right purposes
A minority group needs representation that fights for them This is also a valid reason for affirmative action; but is this what happens with women? For example, the position of ‘Women Representative’ was created to give women a chance to represent their fellow women in parliament. However, most citizens have a problem with their women representatives with claims that they, just like many other parliamentarians, do little or nothing to actually represent them once they have been elected to office. After all, the actual minority, like the women in very remote areas in communities that still don’t educate their women, are not the ones who get the positions- and they are rarely fought for by the women that make it to those positions. Many women in leadership have also been caught in corruption scandals, begging the question- do they deserve to be given leadership positions on a silver platter?
Maybe the field needs to be leveled on leadership too. If we have equal opportunity for education and are equally corrupt, there needs to be actual equal opportunity to fight for leadership positions.
