Tony Gachoka, Political activist

Affirmative action is no handout

Affirmative action debates are really trivialities because I can’t understand how a man who is married, born to a woman, father to a daughter has a problem helping his wife, his mother, his daughter. That is absolutely ridiculous that men can enter into any debate about helping his wife, his mother, his daughter or his sister.

I think women have been short changed in terms of political representation. It is time the leadership for political parties to lead the way.  If the minimum reforms package is constituted we would like to see 24 women nominated to parliament so that we increase from 12 to 36 the current nominated members of parliament. The actual position is that the woman is the greatest contributor in the home; they fetch firewood, carry water, bear children and after nine long hours in a day, comes home to cook and care for her family. It is a very heavy burden for anyone to carry. I think it is urgent and important that the African woman’s contribution in economic generation of this nation is commensurate to her representation in the political affairs. Affirmative action is not really a handout; in my view it is properly earned.

The girl child is discriminated against right from birth. She is not given equal opportunities with boys. She is denied in the upbringing in education and equal opportunities and therefore when as woman she asks for the scales to tilt in her favour why should it be considered a handout. You are just giving her what you denied her at birth. We must correct how we treat the girl child from birth and if we do, there will be no need to have this argument as to whether proportional representation should be supported by affirmative action or not. Affirmative action is only there in the cause we mess up at birth.

Even as we talk of the issue of leadership, I must add...

Sanitary towels are very dear in my heart. How many people can afford sanitary towels, how many people live under a dollar a day? I can't imagine what those girls and women go through. What happens to those girls? 

We cannot allow this country to hand out free condoms so that people can have free sex and we cannot give sanitary towels which are absolutely necessary, it is unacceptable! We’ve got to have a change and an overhaul in the way that this society looks at women.