Scrap women rep position? That will take us back, Muturi told

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau.

Leaders continued to give diverse opinions on the ranging debate of how to increase the number of women in Parliament.

Speaking in Kisumu, Migori County Woman Representative Denitah Ghati said it was not out of favour that women were in the National Assembly today.

She said, they had fought tirelessly to get the slots, and snatching them is tantamount to waging a war against the female gender.

She was reacting to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, who suggested last week that the positions of Women Representatives and nominated MPs be scrapped and the seats replaced with 100 special positions under a law to be crafted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

"The IEBC should be given delegated mandate of coming up with a formula of how the 100 slots will be shared among women and other special interest groups," the Speaker said in Johannesburg where he delivered a keynote address on gender empowerment and women representation.

His remarks came soon after Ainabkoi MP Samwel Chepkonga introduced a bill that seeks to suspend the clause on the one-third gender rule in elective representation.

Ghati yesterday said the moves by the two should not be taken lightly given that the 2017 general elections were drawing closer.

"We have made a very big step in streamlining gender equality in the country and we still have a long way to go. We cannot allow some forces to take us more steps backwards," said Ghati.

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau appealed to the proponents of Okoa Kenya to include the one-third gender rule in their referendum bill.

Mwau said the various institutions tasked with implementing the gender rule had failed and only a referendum can address the matter.

She said women were economically and politically disadvantaged and their rights should be protected by all means possible.

Meanwhile, Starehe MP Maina Kamanda lauded women's determination to hold more positions in Parliament, but said the country should also consider economic implications.

"The question that we should be asking ourselves is whether the Government can afford it," he said.