Women stand to gain the most from a free and fair election

Does this strike you as odd that only 2 days after Prof. Wangari Maatha came in a distant third in the PNU primaries, she boarded a plane to be awarded the yet another international honour in India for her commitment to peace and environment. The International Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2006 award was awarded to the Nobel laureate who was congratulated on her contribution to development and for her passionate commitment to protect the environment. Only last month Prof Maathai, was in India to receive the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding.

Her awards hat is overflowing with the International community acknowledging her contributions for poverty alleviation, peace and women’s rights through the care for natural resources that have culminated in various conflicts in Africa.

Prof. Jacqueline Oduol, another pride and joy for Kenya spent six months in 2001 drafting the country’s National Gender Policy in Rwanda. The renowned author of the book Gender and Ideology: The Role of Language, Gender Advocacy Research and Sexist Ideology in Dholuo is also behind the "Sigoti Girls' Complex in Nyanza which is modeled on Starehe Boys Centre. It grants scholarships to disadvantaged girls.

Prof. Oduol who hit the campaign trail with gusto was a serious contender for the Alego Usonga Parliamentary also suffered the same not even coming close to win ODM ticket for her constituency.

In the primaries that were characterized by massive rigging, handouts and outright violence that have since seen many aspirants hospitalized, one can only ask the question; how could women have been more prepared for this? What mechanisms can one put in place to ensure they are not sexually violated by the mobs? Not touched inappropriately? Agents not chased and beaten up by our opponents?

To respond to an article I read which was of the opinion that women in Nyanza failed to prepare adequately, how does one prepare for violence? Do we need as part of our civic education and capacity building process teach women aspirants and voters marshal arts, boxing, stone throwing and car burning?

As Kenyans and more so women, we need to be very careful when we speak about women in the electoral process. When we speak of nominations as handouts and quotas as free rope for women aspirants, we need to get to the root of the predicament facing these women. We need to wear there shoes and face the battles they face before we begin to throw stones at glass houses we live.

Sadly, the current political environment is bad for women, bad for good leaders and ultimately bad for development.

Primaries; a dress rehearsal for the main elections

Njoki Ndugu warns that if the ECK does not address the violence it is likely to deter female voters from voting in the coming elections which in my view will not help the women aspirants who have now defected to smaller, perhaps more accommodating parties. They will face the issues they faced at the primaries; violence, rigging and poor voter turn out which will ultimately have an affect on the numbers of women in Parliament.

At the Umoja Pamoja Campaign we will join hands around Parliament with Eric Wainana, Suzanna Owiyo and the rest of the Umoja Pamoja artists in a demonstration of commitment and unity of purpose. We urge you to come and share in this day because violence does not just affect the candidates it culminates in poor leadership and poor development.