Kenyan women will not get their rights on a silver platter

A Bill seeking to change the Constitution and implement the gender principle failed to get the required support of 233 MP's to pass the second reading. The vote was 178-16, with five abstaining.

MP's on Thursday voted on the crucial Bill in a bid to fulfill the gender principle, with women legislators confident that the lobbying of their male counterparts could prove to be successful. That was not to be. Some men legislators remained outside parliament watching the voting on the outside T V thereby refusing to vote. But the 100 million dollar question is what impact does nominated women M P's, elected M P's, senators and 47 women representative have in parliament?

They have neither brought bills nor motions to be debated in parliament except for this major bill. Until those in parliament and senate are seen to articulate women issues, that is the time women will be taken seriously.

What hinders women from bringing motions and bills in parliament? Kenyan women have various means of agitating for women rights or bills in Kenya, such as in the newspapers, radio, T V interviews, radio interviews, giving talks in the universities, barazas and social halls. Have they called conferences and seminars to educate the masses and men about the bill? The other ways of sensitizing issues of gender principle, is for penning of letters to various media houses. Only 1% of women in parliament pen letters in the newspapers or do they ever write letters to the editors? Women parliamentarians and in the senate, only pen letters about their political parties and ideologies.

What we have seen women parliamentarians doing their best at is being flower girls in political meetings, accompanying men for press conferences and trips to political meetings.

 Women are their own worst enemies. In parliament the women are always in good terms, why don’t they talk to their fellow men to vote for the bill. Have women leaders agitated for the women cause in the newspapers? We always see and hear about rape cases in the newspapers, T V and radio.  Has any leader brought a bill on castrating men who rape girls or the circulating their names and photos in the social media to stop this vice? Most contributors to newspapers are M P's, senators and lawyers who articulate issues to the nation.

Women are always in their comfort zones fighting their own demons. They lost the vote as the men were outside watching and laughing. So women it is our turn to laugh come 2017 because of our tyranny of numbers. Statistics insinuate that there are more women than men in Kenya. So come 2017 let women take advantage of your tyranny of numbers and laugh the same way the men were laughing outside parliament. Men have steered the bee’s hornets so let them be prepared to be stung. In this way more women will be elected to parliament and senate and we will not be begging the men for their votes. This way bills and motions which will be brought by women to parliament and senate and they will sail through and the rights of women will be respected. The issues that women suffer from are a thousand and one. As Edward Burke said ‘The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good women to do nothing.’ Now the game is up!!!!