Gender Inequality and Political Participation in Kenya
Fall 2017
Introduction
Throughout the world, women remain underrepresented in positions of power. Despite their vital contributions to reproductive and productive roles, women are marginalized based on gender and cultural norms that informally govern societies. There is a direct correlation between upward mobility and women’s engagement in political and civic activities. Without active participation and incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of decision making, the goals of equality, development, and peace cannot be achieved.
In Kenya, women makeup 52% of the population and play an active and significant role in the development of the country. However, due to the patriarchal societal norms in Kenya, women are expected to fulfill the role of a caregiver serving their husbands and children. In an effort to address gender inequality in the political process, the Kenyan Government amended its constitution in 2010 to include Article 27 (8) which states that the State is required to take legislative and other measures to ensure that no more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies are of the same gender (Kaimenyi 2013, 91).
Despite the formal legal changes that the government has implemented, women remain a minority in the political process. This political economy analysis will address the underrepresentation of women in politics, leadership roles, and civic engagement. Even with their increased representation, women remain vastly outnumbered by men in government and other institutions that comprise the political system. Although Kenyan women may be reaching new heights of political power, old attitudes and stereotypes remain, and women who become powerful are frequently ridiculed as if there is only one proper role for political women – to support systems behind political men. Through analysis of qualitative and quantitative research and data of key stakeholders, cultural norms, power dynamics, and the current political climate, I will seek to develop recommendations based on a theory of change that will increase female representation in politics through public-private partnerships.
Current Political & Economic Climate
As a major communications and logistics hub, Kenya is a strategic player in East Africa. It shares strategic land borders with Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Somalia. It is also one of the fastest growing populations in the region with a population of about 48.5 million. The Kenyan government ratified a new constitution in 2010 including a tenured judiciary branch and a bicameral legislative house. Elections in August 2017 returned President Uhuru Kenyatta to office for a second term, but were nullified in September by Kenya’s Supreme Court, paving the way for another presidential election in October against his main rival, Raila Odinga. Odinga bowed out of the revote and called for a boycott urging his supporters to stay home citing corruption within the electoral commission. Despite the opposition promoting the boycott, Kenyatta won 98% of the revote. In November 2017, the Supreme Court dismissed two petitions against the reelection of president Uhuru Kenyatta. In a summary of their judgment, the six-judge bench unanimously decided that the petitions had no merit and upheld his win for a second term.
The political uncertainty caused widespread violence throughout the country leading to the death of dozens of people due to election-related violence. The political climate has also slowed economic growth and has concerned its neighbors in the region. The Kenyan port of Mombasa is a major transit point for imports and exports in East Africa. After faltering in 2008, economic growth has resumed, reaching 5.8% in 2016 to place Kenya as one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. This expansion was boosted by a stable macroeconomic environment, low oil prices, a rebound in tourism, strong remittance inflows, and government-led infrastructure development initiatives. Kenya’s youthful and growing population, dynamic private sector, highly skilled workforce, improved infrastructure, a new constitution, and pivotal role in East Africa, give it the potential to be one of Africa’s great success stories. Addressing poverty, inequality, governance, and the skills gap will be major goals, as well as problems of climate change, low investment, and low productivity.
Cultural Norms
Historically, Kenya has been a male-dominated society and continues to be today. The Kenyan woman, regardless of her socio-economic background or if she was born to a rural or urban family is considered a second-class citizen. It is customary to notify the village that a child has been born through a drum ceremony. If it is a boy, five drum beats will be heard, and if it is a girl, three drum beats will be heard. The parent of a new baby girl receives underwhelming congratulations from neighbors throughout the village. From birth, girls are viewed as a burden on their families compared to their male siblings (Owano 201, 302). Before Kenya was colonized by Britain, men were the decision makers and set the rules that the community was to live by.
Women had few opportunities to occupy leadership roles within the community. A common position was the medicine-woman in which this person cared for ill men and women in her village. This was one of the few positions that women kept in pre-colonial times. Once Britain occupied Kenya, gender roles became more defined as colonialists enforced the role of the man as the head of household. Women lost the few roles they had and strictly became caregivers to their family and household. Land rights were also redefined under colonial rule, permitting sole ownership to men and denying women the right to own land. According to Mungai (2014), besides women losing land ownership and control to men (initially to colonial settlers and later to African men), the status of Kenya women was significantly affected by the coming of colonialists. Tradition and cultural biases against women are deeply rooted in Kenya. Cultural norms have not changed since Kenya gained independence in 1963. Traditions of patriarchy have continued to influence every part of Kenyan society limiting the mobility of women.
Political Status Quo
Politics in Kenya are centered around political parties. There are currently seventy-seven registered political parties. Political parties in Kenya are self-serving and not focused on the welfare of the people or political ideologies or philosophies. This is exemplified in the establishment of new political parties with every election indicating no permanent systems, but interests. This leaves political parties with weak democratic and governance culture, which often works against gender inclusivity. The most common route to elected office is through political parties. An affiliation with a political party is not legally required to run for office. However, only four out of 416 MPs (less than 1 per cent) in Kenya were elected as independents in the 2013 election (Ohman and Lintari 2015, 7). Political parties provide strategic support during the campaign, support of the base, financial resources, and continued assistance after their election. Candidates have the option to run for office independently of political parties; however, their chances of success are far lower than those who have the backing of a political organization, especially at the national level.
Women who desire to run for office are often dependent on political parties due to the support that they provide. Political institutions vary greatly in the extent to which they promote women into leadership positions, recruit women as party candidates, and address political, social, and economic issues that are of concern to women. Some are quite reluctant to nominate women and voters are just as reluctant to vote for them due to the stigma that women are extensions of men and cannot politically stand on their own (Ndirangu 2017, 370.
Overall Kenyan women have faced greater obstacles entering political offices beyond tradition and cultural norms. The institutions established to support candidates have failed women by not providing them with the same support that they provide men. Women are doubly marginalized because of their gender and because they are politicians. In the event that women can receive support from political organizations, critical information is withheld from them that is needed to advance in the campaign process. Many women have reported being locked out of the political process at the nomination process due to lack of information that was supposed to be provided by political parties. The challenges that women face as politicians could be solved by political parties by increasing their support for more female candidates and offering unconditional support for women to be successful.
Power Relations
As more Kenyan women run for and are elected to political office, they continue to encounter numerous barriers to their full political participation. Violence against women is prevalent throughout the campaign process. The culture of electoral violence is harsher towards female candidates than male candidates; another factor of inequality in Kenyan politics. The violence often ranges from societal, familial, economic and political threats that come in the form of harassment, intimidation and physical and sexual abuse, and it should be noted that for every reported case of violence there are dozens of others that remain unreported (Mungai, 2014). Some aspirants had their businesses vandalized and their goods were stolen while others were chased away from their rental houses by marauding youth aligned to men aspirants. These tactics have been used by men for years as a way to deter women from participating in the political process. Women who aren’t running for political office are also susceptible to violence if they refuse to follow their husband’s party and candidate of choice during the campaign and election period.
Despite this reality, election violence against women in Kenya has gone unreported and unpunished by the government. The violence has caused many women to drop out of the race or forgo pursuing a political career all together. Survivors of electoral violence have used their platform to address violence against women and called upon the President, Members of Parliament, and political parties to change the culture of violence against women in the electoral process. Unfortunately, the Electoral Commission of Kenya has no policies and procedures in place to address election violence. Violence against women candidates and their supporters is a matter of great importance and is a major factor that plagues gender inequality in the political process. The power relations between men and women, and women and political parties stems from the cultural norms that govern Kenyan society. Violence is used to incite fear and dissuade women from political advancement and upward mobility. This government has turned a blind eye to electoral violence perpetuating the cycle of inequality which shuts women out of the decision-making process.
Political Party Financing
The role of money in elections is key to a candidate’s success. According to Ohman and Lintari, elections in Kenya are highly competitive, in part because Kenyan Members of Parliament are the highest paid in the world relative to per capita GDP (Ohman and Lintari 2015, 8). A government salary combined with access to other resources, in some cases government contracts, means that winning an election to parliament can be very profitable. The importance of winning increases for all interested parties especially ambitious politicians. It is common practice the aspirants in Kenya have to pay a large fee even to be considered as a candidate by political parties. For most political organizations this fee is the main source of income that funds day-to-day operations and campaigns. Currently, three of the dozens of political parties in Kenya receives public funding from the government. The others depend entirely on members and private contributions. On average candidates have to contribute 600,000 Kenyan shillings for a party nomination and campaign support.
Both men and women have difficulties raising the funds that are needed to get the political backing they need. In some cases, men find themselves unable to raise the fee but women are disproportionally affected due to the biases against female candidates. Some political parties have been known to waive nominating fees however it is not in their best interest because nominating fees are a major source of income. Some political organizations have implemented a fee waiver program to address the disadvantages that women face. Despite this gesture of goodwill to increase the participation of women in electoral politics, men continue to outnumber women. In the Netherlands Institutive for Multiparty Democracy report on Political Party financing, Kenyan women were less willing to seek leadership positions because of the huge financial commitment and discrimination that women face during the election process. This denies Kenyan citizens an opportunity to be aware of, let alone elect such women with good leadership potential.
Women seeking public office often have to spend more than their male counterparts to win a party ticket and election due to the prejudices among the electorate, including the view that a woman’s place is in the home, and that they are not suitable political leaders. This view is more common in conservative rural areas than in urban city centers. These additional resources are used for campaigning purposes such as meet and greet, and town halls to pursue voters to support a female candidate. If a woman is trying to unseat an incumbent, there is added cost associated on top of the initial nominating fee and the extra money used for advertising purposes. The added cost is another factor that can dissuade a woman from entering into electoral politics.
Vote buying is prevalent in Kenyan politics which is an additional cost for women. In the 2013 elections, female candidate reported that vote-buying efforts are preventing them from being elected. Handouts also are known as cash handouts also play a significant role in campaigns. It is expected that candidates participate in these corrupt activities if they wish to advance in the race. Candidates who chose not to comply were disregarded and unsuccessful. Vote-buying and handouts disproportionally affect women more than men because of the financial burdens than men don’t have. Political party financing is critical for female candidates to ensure success.
Conclusions and Policy Recommendations
There is a need for the Kenyan society to change and evolve out of the patriarchal nature and institutions of society and accommodate women participation in politics. Female candidates who have attempted this in Kenya face a lot of obstacles, lack of resources to campaign, inadequate information about the electorate, lack of support from the political parties and even they are rejected by the community because of cultural factors that detect women to be subordinated. Despite the challenges women face, there are opportunities to address gender inequalities in electoral politics. There is a need for increased participation from women in politics that Kenya has yet to fill. Based on research and analysis the following recommendations should be implemented:
Political parties- For women to have a chance of success in the electoral process, political parties must be engaged and invested in women’s leadership. As a stakeholder in in the political process political parties would benefit from supporting female candidates who would diversify the electorate. Political organizations can implement waiver programs to attract more female candidates, provide workshops for interested candidates to inform them of policies and regulations, and provide unconditional support throughout the election process and beyond.
Violence against women- Election based violence against women is a major hindrance to female candidates. The government, specifically the election commission should partner with political parties to enforce rules to prevent election based violence against women and prosecute offenders of such actions.
Political Party Financing- Sufficient political financing is the key to the longevity of women in politics. With proper financial support women will be able to fill leadership roles at all levels of government. Kenyan civil society would benefit to work with the political parties to support potential women leaders develop fundraising skills to support them throughout the campaign process.
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