March 8th marked the annual International Women’s Day (IWD) under the ‘Accelerate Action’ theme. IWD celebrates women and their achievements in all aspects of life, including social, economic, cultural, and political.

While IWD advocates for gender equality, women’s representation in political spaces is still insufficient. The Kenya Kwanza government manifesto prioritises the women’s agenda and realises that women remain largely excluded from participation and decision-making in the country’s governance and political institutions. To this end, the manifesto commits to the “realisation of the two-thirds gender rule in elective and appointive positions in the public sector, within 12 months following election, including 50% cabinet positions to women.”  This commitment is yet to be realised two years after the general election.

Legal framework

The Constitution of Kenya protects the rights of Kenyan citizens, with some rights specific to certain groups of people, such as children, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs). In Article 10 of the Constitution, gender equality is recognised and protected as a national value.

Article 81 provides that “not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender.”  Article 175 provides for principles of devolved government, including “no more than two-thirds of the members of representative bodies in each county government shall be of the same gender.” Article 91 provides the basic requirements for political parties, including gender equality and equity.

Additionally, the Constitution guarantees women’s presence and participation in legislative matters. Article 197 advocates for gender balance and diversity in county assemblies and states, “Not more than two-thirds of the members of any county assembly or county executive committee shall be of the same gender.” Article 97 provides for the Membership of the National Assembly, and 47 seats are allocated to women, similar to Article 98, which provides for the Membership of the Senate, where 16 seats are to be allocated to women.

Implementation opportunities and challenges

While all these legal provisions ensure women’s inclusivity in political spaces, implementation remains challenging. In 2024, President William Ruto directed the establishment of a Multi-Sectoral Working Group (Working Group) under the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage. The mandate of the Working Group is to develop a framework for implementing the constitutional requirements of the not more than two-thirds gender rule in elective and appointive public institutions.

The Working Group noted that Parliament has yet to enact legislation to promote the representation of women in Parliament as prescribed under Article 100 of the Constitution. This should be a priority as Parliament has already failed to meet the five-year timeline stipulated in the Constitution, which is not only limited to women but also to youth, PWDs, ethnic minorities, and other marginalised communities.

Another challenge noted is political parties’ reluctance to implement voluntary gender quotas in their party composition and nominations. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties should address this by making it a strict requirement for party nominations to respect the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members nominated are of the same gender.

Gender equality should also be considered in appointive positions, such as appointments to the leadership of commissions. Additionally, recruitment in public offices should strictly adhere to gender equality, with frequent gender audits undertaken. This will also improve women’s socio-economic status.

Conclusion

Gender equality continues to be elusive. However, it is time to accelerate action. This includes President Ruto fulfilling his manifesto commitment of having women fill 50% of the Cabinet positions. 

The President should prioritise nominating a female candidate to occupy the vacant Cabinet position in the Ministry of Gender, Culture, the Arts and Heritage. The Cabinet Secretary will need to work closely with the Office of the Women Rights Advisor to the President to ensure the implementation of gender equality in the country. This is in addition to ensuring that the Kenya Kwanza Manifesto commitment to realising the two-thirds gender rule in elective and appointive positions in the public sector and filling 50% of the cabinet positions with women is fulfilled.