The Two Thirds Gender Bill proposed by National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has sparked a heated debate not only in Parliament but also on the social media tweets. From what is looks like, the boy child on Twitter is up in arms resisting the Bill.
So are the men resisting the Bill based on a valid argument or are they just opposing the idea of gender equality? Doesn’t gender equality make everything better for both sexes?
In fact, most of those opposing the Bill do not have an idea of what the two third gender rule is about. It’s not about women being awarded positions fellows, there’s more to it than this. It’s about equal representation in Parliament not a battle of the sexes as most have made it seem.
As such, drafters of the 2010 Constitution stipulated that the National Assembly and the Senate should not have more than two-thirds of their members of the same gender.
“Not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender,” says Article 81 (b) of the Constitution.
At the core of the bill is a nomination criterion to ensure that at any given time, the number of women is at least a third of the total. The bill therefore proposes that after an election has been finalised and the gender numbers calculated, the right number of women be nominated.
However here is what a few KOT had to say:
So is being a woman some kind of qualification for any job?
Wangari maathai was a leader who fought for what she believed in thru blood n sweat, she didnt have the #GenderBill n she got isht done.
wat r all this others making noise for?
mnataka kupewa viti tu? pic.twitter.com/IxhYr8mtFx— ping pong official 🇰🇪 (@pauliddiali) November 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/ItsBravin/status/1065131295276191744
They say Women will Rule this World in days to come. It will be a Hell of a thing to see a Woman's Government. For in Parliament they will be only Discussing People's Business. This Gender Bill is a Fallacy. #GenderBill
#MheshimiwaFisi— Gerald Ngao 🇰🇪 (@geraldngaopk) November 21, 2018
We created 47 slots for them. You are still telling us to add them more when the 47 are just enjoying salary and allowances and doing nothing. Men and women are now equal,let them compete.#GenderBill
— Onchiri Joseph (@OnchiriJosef) November 21, 2018
Women told us 'What a man can do, a woman can do better'. Now fighting for free slots with the #GenderBill.
Why cant they bust their Butt out there with men and emerge the best.
.
Never heard them complain the ratio of Men to Women in #KDF Somalia Al-Shabaab.
Double Standard.— Lernie ™ (@ItsLernie) November 21, 2018
Women claim they can do anything, equally as good as any man, that said, it's only fare that they fight for these positions, based on merit rather than expecting everything on a silver platter.#genderbill
— Clinton Chogo (@itschogo) November 21, 2018
I'm totally against this spoon feeding in the name of sijui 1/3 gender rule! We're already overrepresented, who are this women that will be sent to parliament represent? Or they will be sitting in parliament just because they are women? #Genderbill #checkpoint
— Finic (@Finicfinic) November 20, 2018
Therefore, the basis of argument by most KOT, especially the men has no foundation. Most including President Uhuru Kenyatta have alluded to the notion that women should go to the battlefield and campaign against their male counterparts for such positions.
“This country is yours, step up and compete with men because you were born with leadership. It’s only that men have instilled you with fear,” said President Kenyatta.
However, if we really dig deep, are Kenyans willing to vote in women to head counties or even a country?
Didn’t Martha Karua try? Is she not competent for the job? In the last general election, very few women managed to clinch seats for the position of Governor and Senators.
Currently, the National Assembly has 75 women MPs. Only 22 out of the 75 were elected from the 290 constituencies in the last election while 6 were nominated in the 12 nomination slots while the other 47 were elected as woman reps.
The Senate only has 3 elected women from the 47 counties, while 18 are nominated.
That should tell you a lot about this country and how women are perceived as far as governance and leadership is concerned.
The country, especially women now look to the legislation with hope that they will not only stand up for their rights but also for equal representation of both sexes in government.