Women’s Participation in Constitution-Making Process in Kenya (S.3, Part 14)

Abstract

This 47minutes 56seconds – long video was recorded in June 2017. Salome started observing discrimination against girls and women from an early age. As a girl with a disability, she was never conscious of social gender norms. Her first encounter with gender-based discrimination came after she completed her studies and went to work at Kabete Approved Secondary School. Nobody believed women and more so a disabled girl could run the highest institution. She even became the manager of the institution which to many was not normal. With her experience in dealing with the children and their mothers who mostly came to see their children, she realized the problem was much broader than the children themselves. She returned to school and pursued her master's in gender and development and policy. She was also involved in the preparation of the Nairobi Conference in the education committee. During this period, she realized the problem was much broader. She also realized the power of women and the need for women’s empowerment to ensure a win-win situation for all. As a gender specialist, she was actively involved in the struggle for women’s empowerment. Aware that issues left out in the policy will not be implemented she and other women, including Prof Wanjiku Kabira, and Hon Phoebe Asiyo among others, seized the opportunity for the constitution-making process to ensure women’s issues found their way into the Constitution of Kenya. During the Constitution-making process, she was instrumental as a technical adviser for women and for persons with disability. She was also involved in the founding of the Women’s Political Caucus – Kenya. She was with the women in the Ufungamano Constitution-making Initiative and she was among the five women who were nominated Commissioners to the Constitutional Review Commission. Salome was also involved in gender mainstreaming in the political parties. Salome notes though some progress has been made in gender mainstreaming the young women though educated, passionate and interested are not equipped with relevant skills to continue with the struggle. The young women and all those in leadership should be trained in gender analysis skills, competence and how to come up with a way forward, knowledge and attitude and how to change the prevailing environment. Women should also have a strong movement comprised of the different generations older women, middle and young women, so as to build on the experiences of previous generations so as to build on lessons learnt so that they don’t go back to reinventing the wheel. Women should also hold people and institutions accountable for what they commit to doing for women.