Steve Kabucho, Advocate

On the current representation of women in parliament

We should definitely have more women in parliament for various reasons. For one the parliament should be a reflection of the society that we have. At least 51% of our population comprises women. The representation of women in parliament should at least be close to that.

When it comes to legislation everybody knows that women sometimes have a much sober way of looking at things again I guess that’s where our parliament has failed. A lot of men are just driven by politics and politics alone. It has nothing to do with the economy, it has nothing to do with what is good for Kenyan’s, it has nothing to do with logic it is just politics. If they want to shoot down something for the parliament they shoot it down. In my view women will be driven by some sense of responsibility.

On affirmative action

Majority of the men who hear about affirmative action, obviously for those who have a vague idea of what affirmative action is, have a tendency to think that it is having women dominate over them or taking the lions share which is clearly not the correct position. It is just saying that we need to have women because they are already disadvantaged at least through affirmative action we put them to an almost level playfield. Even the proposed 30% is still not enough as it still leaves men with the lions share of 70%.

On my role in increasing this representation and participation of women in politics

In my profession as a lawyer, the last time we had elections for the Law Society of Kenya, unfortunately there was no woman running for the chairmanship, but for the council I voted for women in all the positions for this simple reason. In the legal profession you will see that we are almost 50:50 men and women. However, majority if not all the complaints from clients who have maybe lost their money or any other unprofessional unbecoming involve male lawyers. You will find that the women are not involved in that. It is a clear indication again that women take responsibility more seriously than men.

When it comes to politics in my constituency, if we have an able woman running, able to sell herself properly, because again it comes down to that, I have no problem voting for her. However, we will not just vote for a woman just because she is a woman. If there is a man who appears to do a better job and is marketing himself better we will not be carried away by the affirmative action. It has to be logical we will have to vote for the best candidate. So the civil society should encourage and equip women to come out strongly and market themselves well.

On political climate

The Kenyan politics are skewed by finances and propaganda and poor politicking. In most cases women will not be able to do that poor, dirty politicking and they also don’t have the finances. The majority of the electorate will just listen to the propaganda and lies that the politicians give. Probably, through affirmative action capable women appointed to senior government posts can prove themselves so that the people may see them in the limelight for some time. They can then have better visibility and credibility during campaigns.