Neither the end of rule of the former "state party" Kenya African National Union (KANU) and the takeover by the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government by the end of 2002, nor the political upheavals from the crisis that resulted from the general elections of 27 December 2007, did change this political culture in any decisive manner. While the "Grand Coalition" formed in April 2008, with President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga ended the escalation of violence, many wananchi (citizens) – after several corruption scandals and numerous internal quarrels – have lost trust in the capacity of Kenya's political class, to address the pressing needs for reform.
The dominance of patriarchic structures in Kenyan politics and society is well illustrated by the low number of women among the members of parliament (MPs). In 2002, there were only eight women among the 210 elected MPs forming a paltry 3.8%. Among them were a number of strong, internationally-recognized personalities, most prominent among them Wangari Maathai, the founder of the Green Belt Movement (GBM) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 2004. Overall, however, Kenya remained far behind the standards of its neighbours that have a female representation in parliament of about 30 per cent – not to talk of Rwanda where women even form a majority in parliament today.
"The small number of women in Kenya's parliament – even and especially if compared to the situation in other countries of the region – shows the continued existence of patriarchic power relationships in the most direct manner", says Dr. Axel Harneit-Sievers, director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation's (HBF) Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa, located in Nairobi. However, there are numerous forces in Kenya – especially the effective women's rights and other civil society organizations – that work against these relationships. In recent years, women's rights activists have had substantial success in improving public awareness around gender issues. At the same time, Kenyan politics has started to take serious the demands for gender equity – at least rhetorically. Now it is time to transform this rhetorical progress into a real strengthening of female political power: through an increased representation of women in the institutions, and also through improved integration of gender perspectives into political decision-making processes.
In the period before the presidential and parliamentary elections of December 2007, the Nairobi office supported the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), which draws its membership from Kenya's political parties, in training programs for the design of electoral campaigns and media work directed at a number of female parliamentary candidates with high potential for electoral success. Another training program, implemented by the Women‘s Political Alliance of Kenya (WPAK) focused on female candidates for civic seats on the local level, where female candidates are perceived to have a greater chance of electoral success than on the national level.
A series of public debates, organized monthly by the HBF in Nairobi with a mix of thematic focus and debates on current affairs, aims at strengthening awareness for the gender dimension in all spheres of social and political life. In 2007, these "Gender Forums" were held largely with a view to the impending elections. They focused on the specific problems faced by women who intend to enter politics: Among them are not only gender stereotypes and lack of funds for campaigning, but also threats of violence.
In the elections of December 2007, the engagement of numerous organisations showed some limited success: 15 women were elected as Members of Parliament (MPs), out of a total number of 210 MPs. Another six were nominated as MPs by the political parties (of overall 12 nominated MPs). As a result, the women's share of Kenya's parliament has reached 9.5 per cent.
Another encouraging development lay in the fact that the number of female aspirants for parliamentary mandates reached 269 (of a total of 2,548), a figure much higher than in 2002 (44 out of 1,015). More than in the past, Kenyan women are prepared to bid for political offices, and it can be expected that this trend will continue in the next elections – no matter whether these will take place regularly in 2012 or even earlier (in the not unlikely case of a breakdown of the "Grand Coalition" government). Of course, to merely increase the number of women in parliament does not guarantee gender-sensitive policies. According to a study – undertaken before the 2007 elections – Kenyan female politicians typically focus on issues of social and gender equity at the beginning of the careers. However, their career progression is often accompanied by an increasing integration into (and orientation towards) the "male mainstream". (1)
In the new cabinet formed in April 2008, women hold seven ministerial and six assistant ministerial jobs (out of a total of 90 positions). However, Martha Karua, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and arguably the most high-profile female politician in Kenya (with ambitions towards the Presidency), stepped down from office on April 7, 2009, after conflicts with President Kibaki.
The change of the social climate as regards issues of gender equity is progressing, even though at a rather slow pace. Even before the December 2007 elections, a growing readiness was recognizable among established political actors to use gender equity arguments in order to appeal to the female electorate. For example, President Kibaki, bidding for re-election for a second term, announced that in the future, 30 per cent of all civil service appointments would go to women; whether this announcement was followed by action cannot be checked until now, due to the unavailability of relevant statistics. Pushed by civil society and women's group, in mid-2007 the Kenyan Parliament even discussed an Affirmative Action Bill which should have guaranteed women 50 seats in the legislative. This legal initiative failed after a short, but intense public debate – not only because of male reservations, but also because the proposed legislation included a re-drawing of constituency boundaries that appeared to pose incalculable risks for the electoral strategies of the political parties.
In order to improve the legal position of Kenyan women, continued and sustained pressure by the civil society – and especially the women's rights organizations – will be necessary. A number of legislative reform projects have been ongoing for years.. However, only the Sexual Offences Act (2007) has been passed until now, providing better protection and also an improved legal position for victims. HBF has been supporting sensitization and training programs for the police and prosecutors in order to improve the implementation of the new law.
Two among HBF's partner organisations have been contributing to this: The African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) and the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW) support victims of gender-based violence and fight for an improved legal and practical protection. There have been numerous cases of violent attacks against women in the context of the violence after the December 2007 elections, from sexual assault to gang rape. The African Woman and Child Feature Services (AWC) and COVAW documented such cases and brought them to the attention of the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence ("Waki-Commission"), jointly with other lead agencies and women’s rights organizations. As a result, the Commission's report devoted an entire chapter to the problem of gender-based violence, setting the stage for a much broader public attention and debate of a problem that has frequently been neglected or negated in the public arena.
HBF's Gender Forums also contributed to this, by making violent attacks on women a core theme in early 2008. Throughout the year, these Forums reached an average audience of 180 persons – from civil society, politics and academics. In the course of the year, the Gender Forum concept was extended by additional forums in western Kenya (Kisumu) and roundtable debates at the Kenyatta University in Nairobi.
Some other law reform initiatives designed to improve the legal situation of women are still not finalized. A new Marriage Bill had been proposed before Parliament in 2007, designed to modernize Kenya's marriage and family law that largely stems from colonial days and is characterized by an extensive degree of legal pluralism. The Bill is scheduled to be debated in Parliament again in 2009. Other legal initiatives relate to matrimonial property, the problem of domestic violence, and a policy to guarantee equal opportunities. Under the patriarchic conditions of Kenya, intense debates are to be expected, and HBF Nairobi and its partners will continue to engage in them, as before.
In addition, HBF in Kenya has begun to direct its work in the area of gender equity towards working with selected actors within government and administration – especially those who have shown themselves to be open for the integration of gender perspectives into their areas of work. Thus, HBF Nairobi commissioned a study that presented ideas for the further development of the Constituency Development Fund (a decentralized institution for the funding of local development), in order to give greater weight to the interests and concerns of women and socially-excluded groups in the operation of the fund. In parallel, studies and consulting activities were started in order to better integrate the gender dimension into the allocation of public funds (gender budgeting) in specific sectors (especially the water sector) and in planning processes. Surely, a modern gender policy finds its allies in some government institutions in Kenya today; but it continues to need the support of civil society in order to achieve process in an institutional environment characterized by patriarchy and bureaucratic practice.
REFERENCES
(1) Nyokabi Kamau, "The Value Proposition to Women’s Leadership: Perspectives of Kenyan Women Parliamentary and Civic Leaders (2003 to 2007)", in: Heinrich Böll Foundation, Regional Office for East & Horn of Africa: Enhancing Women's Political Participation (= Perspectives on Gender Discourse No 6) Nairobi 2008, pp. 7-35.
(Translation and Editing: Axel Harneit-Sievers & Wanjiku Wakogi)
