Opinion||The two third gender in our today's politics- Wajir on the move to strengthen in realization of women liberation throw leadership, undeniable factor & a Pilar to 2027

Not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender," Article 81 (b) of the 2010 Constitution dictates.

In Wajir county in the recent years there was urge of women empowerment through political process, women have been in forefront of taking or championing their rights - they stood firm to echo their voices. They shelve their traditional ways, the went against the odd, break the stereotypes and descrepany - of women are for the kitchen.

in 2022, the political journey in Wajir history things were different mainly women heavenly making breakthrough in the political stands, they weight huge percentage in the negotiating table - women draft and craft their political structure, they come up with women caucus to strengthen their political mobility, this helped them in achieving a lot. In the last general election women in Wajir have show case a memorable setup - many aspiring candidates shown interest - Today Wajir has two elected members of county Assembly .

With tradition norms, male dominance politics women are on the move to liberate themselves politically.

Constitution of Kenya has ushered in a new beginning for the women of Kenya as it guarantees key fundamental rights and freedoms which include but are not limited to the right of the participation of women in democratic governance.

Provisions such us  Article 26 (6), Article 27 (8) and  Article 81 (b)  which secure affirmative action aim to reduce  gender imbalances in leadership positions by providing that no more than two-thirds of the members in any elective or appointive positions such shall be of the same gender.

Wajir chapter, the not more than two-thirds gender principle recognizes that certain sectors of the society-  Historically women, have been marginalized by both cultural based attached phenomenal and the political system thereby through the new dispensation women were set free to put or guide to guarantee their right to equality. This right to equality is interpreted as requiring the elimination of historically rooted patterns of prejudice, discrimination and disadvantage that contribute to the subordination and exclusion of women.

The failure of Parliament to put in place legislative measures to ensure that the not more than 2/3rds principle is met within Parliament threatens to perpetuate the status quo where  women continue to be marginalized from decision making spaces particularly at the national level - in our county Wajir women forces ignite the move to liberate by anticipating various ways of voicing their position either in the political setup or any other reserved channels especially the negotiated democracy patterns -  women have taken their agitated voice - today they are holding different designations both county and national government.

The journey for constitutional reformation to ensure the constitution mandate of two third gender rule has not been a walk in the park, several attempts made never had it's Way due to the male enrich political dominance - the struggle continues we hope such affirmative actions be able to sail through - The 10th, 11th parliament tried,  significantly such gesture will be no doubt helpful in the coming elections WHY? In Wajir today politics without women being involved would not be a a juicy to trail as you know majority of the voters are women, in 2027 there Will be a surprise of a tale.

 As the world turns to capture the women liberation, poor leadership, corruption, financial constraints, cultural preservation, conflicts and mutilation of the constitution are some of the stumbling block to women leadership in Africa.

In Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa Rwanda 

 led the world in women’s representation in a single or lower house of parliament and, following the 2013 election, has 64 per cent women in its Chamber of Deputies. Nearly a dozen other Sub-Saharan countries top the world list, with more than 30 per cent women in their parliaments. 

The first Sub-Saharan countries to adopt some kind of electoral gender quota in the 1990s and early 2000s were post-transition or, more likely, post-conflict countries in East and Southern Africa such as Burundi, Eritrea, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and, a bit later, Angola. In these countries, a similar set of factors led to the adoption of quotas including: the political opportunity structure offered by a political transition (often post-conflict), entailing the adoption of new constitutions and electoral laws; pressure from mobilized national women’s movements with support from an international women’s movement; cadres of capable.

In the mercy of gender quotas in Kenya (Wajir) many women have heavenly benefited from the political favour - political parties, they are nominated or given chances to hold political positions to secure the gender disparities.

Secondly, electoral gender quotas in sub-Saharan Africa usually ‘work’ in ways that they do not always in other places. Whereas in France, political parties may choose to pay a fine rather than implement a gender quota, in Senegal a new parity law resulted in 44 per cent women elected to the National Assembly at its first use in 2012. And women’s organizations in Senegal, seeking to do even better, are pushing to make sure that women occupy the ‘odd’ rather than ‘even’ numbers of party lists for the next election. By and large, there has also been no turning back; in those countries in which meaningful quotas have been used in successive election cycles the percentage of women has risen steadily.

Symbolic representation refers to public attitudes toward women in politics and trends in the political engagement of female constituents. These impacts may be even more important given that they generally take place outside of national legislatures- with Somali culture still sinks in our mind many Will course to a shock in the coming elections when we we will see almost 70% women Will be vying elective post.

less-than-democratic political systems are ‘quota women’ serving to subvert democracy, support a dominant political party? In any electoral system political parties remain the gatekeepers; have women gained access to positions of leadership within parties beyond women’s wings? To what extent do women remain beholden to political parties that have included them as candidates on party lists or for reserved seats?

 Electoral gender quotas are generally meant to be temporary measures though there is little evidence of quotas yet being abandoned because they have accomplished their goals; Zimbabwe may represent a new trend having recently adopted quotas for the 2013 and 2018 elections only. Will there be reversals if quotas are only temporary? Indeed, for how long are quotas needed? Do women elected on quotas – of any type, but especially reserved seats – become second class members of parliament?

 Are concerns about elitism or tokenism valid? Are quota women any different from other women and men members? Are reserved seats serving as stepping stones to county  -based seats or does the existence of reserved seats mean that women are discouraged from standing in openly contested seats? Is the number of women elected to those seats increasing enough? Is there need to consider backlash?- 

However, would this be effective in ensuring women take part in leadership or would it be a leeway to cajole them through the party nominations - is it a sickle turn to ruin the two third gender rule? In short considering of two third in Wajir politics is no doubt a pillar to be mind in the coming 2027, it's  a negotiable trends, politically Wajir women are awake to the tune.

Finally,  across the continent women representative in the decision making agenda is the absolute values to go by In Rwanda, with the highest percentage of women MPs of any country in the world, women deputies consider that their greater presence has guaranteed a gender agenda and they are now eager to see their accomplishments replicated in other countries around the world-  for our county Wajir the whistle has already blown, gender quotas revolution is making strides irrespective of myriad problems including culture and perception towards women leadership.

God bless Wajir county