Australia
has an awful lot of women in positions of leadership and power. Kenya,
in contrast, is still in the shallow end of the pool, afraid of trusting
its women withe either power or or leadership responsibility. The few
women who have risen to the top have done so in direct opposition to the
interests of Kenya's patriarchy. Given the givens, it is only natural
that we focus our attention on the political class today. In this arena,
it is the likes of Martha Karua and Charity Ngilu who have managed to
defy the odds, much as their predecessors did in the late sixties and
seventies. Others like Nyiva Mwendwa and Agnes Ndetei proved to be
disappointments, behaving more like handmaidens to President Moi than
potential presidential contenders. Meanwhile, in Australia a woman is
the Prime Minister, a woman is the commonwealth Attorney-General, a
woman is the Premier of Tasmania as is the Premier of Australian Capital
Territory.
In 2013, Kenyans will be electing not just the President and Deputy President, but the governors of 47 counties. It is instructive that just about NARC-K and NARC have women leaders, but not much more. It remains unclear whether the political parties have women waiting in the wings to take on the entrenched interests of the men who have laid our nation low. Instead, we get the impression that the men who make decisions are more interested in the tokenism of women representative seats than in substantially advancing the political careers of qualified and determined women in their political parties. It is the same when one looks at leadership positions in other areas: academia, media, manufacturing, the defense forces, the national security establishment, the public service, or even faith-based institutions.
What makes this phenomenon unusual is the fact that more women are registering for higher education than men. It has been suggested that many of the female university graduates graduate in disciplines that do not put them in line for positions of leadership or political power. It is more likely that decisions being made by boards dominated by men are blinkered in their options, seeing only the familiar shape of a man in a suit than of a woman with the necessary skills and qualifications to take over the reins.
It is disappointing that women were the most vocal in deriding Kingwa Kamencu's ambition to succeed Mwai Kibaki. She may not be the best candidate to take over in 2013, but instead of scoffing at the scale of her ambition, women should have taken it as their cue to pile on the pressure for the women of their choice, qualified or otherwise, to rise to the top of the political greasy pole. The ambitions of women are being realised in other areas should be taken to their logical end in the political arena; it is the only way that the lofty objectives of our not-so-new Constitution can be realised. Australia is proof that the participation of women in all areas of leadership and governance is good for the country.
In 2013, Kenyans will be electing not just the President and Deputy President, but the governors of 47 counties. It is instructive that just about NARC-K and NARC have women leaders, but not much more. It remains unclear whether the political parties have women waiting in the wings to take on the entrenched interests of the men who have laid our nation low. Instead, we get the impression that the men who make decisions are more interested in the tokenism of women representative seats than in substantially advancing the political careers of qualified and determined women in their political parties. It is the same when one looks at leadership positions in other areas: academia, media, manufacturing, the defense forces, the national security establishment, the public service, or even faith-based institutions.
What makes this phenomenon unusual is the fact that more women are registering for higher education than men. It has been suggested that many of the female university graduates graduate in disciplines that do not put them in line for positions of leadership or political power. It is more likely that decisions being made by boards dominated by men are blinkered in their options, seeing only the familiar shape of a man in a suit than of a woman with the necessary skills and qualifications to take over the reins.
It is disappointing that women were the most vocal in deriding Kingwa Kamencu's ambition to succeed Mwai Kibaki. She may not be the best candidate to take over in 2013, but instead of scoffing at the scale of her ambition, women should have taken it as their cue to pile on the pressure for the women of their choice, qualified or otherwise, to rise to the top of the political greasy pole. The ambitions of women are being realised in other areas should be taken to their logical end in the political arena; it is the only way that the lofty objectives of our not-so-new Constitution can be realised. Australia is proof that the participation of women in all areas of leadership and governance is good for the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment