Gender Equality And Political Processes In Kenya

Chapter One: Gender equality in political processes: An introduction / by Japhet Biegon. Chapter Two: Women and political inclusion in Kenya: a historical overview, 1963 - 2016 / by Effie Owuor. Chapter Three: The quest for equal gender representation in Kenya's Parliament: past and present challenges / by Patricia Kameri-Mbote. Chapter Four: The path towards inclusive democracy in Kenya / by Katindi Sivi-Njonjo. Chapter Five: The role of political parties in promoting women's political participation / by Dickson Omondi. Chapter Six: The roots and effects of electoral sexual and gender-based violence on women's political participation in Kenya / by J Osogo Ambani. Chapter Seven: Beyond Kenya: The impact of Article 9 of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa on women's political participation in Africa / by Osai Ojigho.

Following a gendered approach, this study presents a descriptive analysis of the role women's organisations have played in the democratisation process in Kenya since the pre-colonial era. Supported by this historical analysis, an indepth study of five political women organisations in Kenya is presented, in which organisations' structure, programs, and strategic approach to political participation presented by the new available spaces after the introduction of a multiparty state in 1992 are illustrated.

Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Development Politics, St. John's University, language: English, abstract: Gender inequality in Kenya is real. The problem of gender inequality still prevails in almost all spheres of life despite the many efforts by the government to try to achieve gender parity in all spheres. The major reason why this situation has prevailed is due to the complexity of the concept of gender equality and the fact that it has received minimal attention. Gender equality should go beyond being perceived as ‘sameness’. In reality, majority of the Kenyan women and girls are facing the problem of inequality and discrimination. This paper tries to evaluate the efforts made by the Kenyan government in achieving gender equality. In addition, it seeks to look at the gaps that the government has left out leading to the current situation where there exist educational disparities, social, cultural and economic. It will also look at the efforts by the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in bringing gender parity. Lastly, this paper proposes several interventions that need to be put in place in order to achieve gender equality.

Master's Thesis from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - Topic: International relations, grade: C, University of Nairobi (Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies), course: MA-International Studies, language: English, abstract: This study sought to examine the impact of engendering public policy in Kenya and studied Kenyan women in international relations in the eyes of those serving in international jurisdiction and those in the local sphere who have been able to influence international public policy. The Methodology of research was through both primary and secondary data analysis. Primary data was collected from interviews with women in public offices locally and internationally. The interviews were personal interviews in the form of Non-Scheduled Non-Structured interviews. The study relied heavily on secondary data which was collected from various sources such as library research, internet searches, past thesis, academic papers and dissertations, summary of journals, government documents. Political scientists around the world have been generally surprised by the recent surfacing of a viable advocacy movement stemming from the women’s rights movement. The profession as a whole has found itself hard pressed to deal with the movement, either in analyzing the factors that provoked its emergence, or in explaining its implications for policy-making and the operation of public institutions in general. Such unpreparedness can be partially explained by the focus of public policy research, which has almost excluded women from its concern. The question then becomes ‘If your party nominated a woman for president, would you vote for her if she were to qualify for the job?’ The equality of men in the matter of public and political rights is established by a large number of constitutions, codes and laws. Many nations have adopted the system of representative government at a later juncture, and whose customs and traditions maintain women in a subordinate position, have adopted the principle of the equality of both sexes; in the Far East and in Islamic countries, this improvement in legal status of women is proceeding, indeed at a revolutionary pace. In the Far East the public emancipation of women has encountered very strong opposition in circles attached to traditions, whether religious or not.

One of the persistent democratic deficits throughout the world is women’s lack of influence in politics. In relation to political parties in particular, the voice of women in decision-making remains insufficient, and, in some cases, is nonexistent. This report is based on the findings of a two-year project implemented by International IDEA, aimed at analyzing the commitments of political parties to gender equality in 33 countries in Africa. One of the key findings from this research is that, although political parties’ constitutions and manifestos contain general gender equality commitments, their utility is limited by the lack of concrete measures to ensure that commitments are translated into effective actions and outcomes.

First Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.