THE BATON OF FEMALES’ COLLECTIVE STRUGGLE: VOICES OF NOMINATED FEMALE MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY ON COLLABORATION AND NETWORKING WITH FEMALES FROM THE FORMER CENTRAL KENYA PROVINCE
Abstract
Females from most societies are marginalized and have limited access to conventional avenues of power. Globally, regionally and locally, the feminist movements have struggled to create space for females in public life, including the political arena. The greatest achievement of the feminist movement struggle was the introduction of the electoral gender quotas. By 2022, about 50% of the countries of the world (Maillé, p. 123) had adopted some form of gender electoral quotas. In Kenya, a strong feminist constitutional movement saw affirmative action entrenched in Kenya’s 2010 Constitution. Its implementation resulted in an increased descriptive representation of females in the 47 County Assemblies. This paper aims at contributing to African feminist epistemology. It presents the voices of nominated female Members of the County Assembly (FMCAs) in Kenya on their experiences in networking and collaboration with female leaders of organizations/groups, from Central Kenya counties, which is critical for collective agenda setting to influence county assembly policies to address female concerns. This is a response to a concern raised by Nzomo, who notes that “the predominant discourse among gender researchers focusing on Kenya women’s political participation, is still preoccupied with the issue of Access and Presence; of obstacles and strategies of attaining the (“critical mass”); of women in political leadership, and less attention on “the question of Agenda setting and Accountability” (2013). Secondary data was collected through a review of existing literature while the primary data was collected through in-depth interviews and panel discussions with nominated female members of the county assembly (FMCAs) from Central Kenya Counties. 25 nominated FMCAs took part in the study. Interviews were recorded verbatim and excerpts directly transcribed from the recordings. Findings show a disconnect of the collective struggle due to lack of resources, intimidation by elected male colleagues, ignorance on the role of nominated and elected MCAs, among the electorate and social distance with the female fraternity. It recommends the allocation of resources, the establishment of a platform for engagement, awareness creation among the electorate, capacity building for FMCAs and the flow of information between FMCAs and the female fraternity.
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