Elixir Journal

53000 Ednah N Masita / Elixir Social Studies 129 (2019) 53000-53004 Available online at www.elixirpublishers.com (Elixir International Journal) Social Studies Elixir Social Studies 129 (2019) 53000-53004 Taming Women in National Elective Leadership Positions-The case of Abagusii of Western Kenya Ednah N Masita Moi University, Department of Anthropology and Human Ecology, P.O Box 3900-30100. ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: This study investigated the tactics used to curtail women participation in national elective Received: 4 February 2019; leadership positions among the Abagusii of Western Kenya. Data for this study was Received in revised form: collected from 15 Gusii women who were purposively selected because of their 25 March 2019; participation in the 2013 and 2017 national elections as contestants. The study found that Accepted: 5 April 2019; women were unable to win any national elective seats which they competed with men. Their failure was attributed to the tactics male contestants used against them. These Keywords tactics were mostly based on moralistic codes of gender and sexuality. This study argues Culture, that policies that aim at enhancing women participation in elective leadership positions Discursive Effect, must first address the social construction of women sexuality in each community. Identity, © 2019 Elixir All rights reserved. Sexuality, Tactics, Two-thirds Gender Rule. Introduction married to rich old men in order to get enough cattle to enable Background Information their sons to marry. Since Kenya gained self-rule in 1963, the Abagusii of However, many young women defied their fathers on the Western Kenya have never elected a woman into the National issue of whom to marry. As a result, most young women ran Assembly. This is not because the Abagusii women are away from the forced marriages and returned to their natal passive participants in the issue of politics or leadership. In homes while others eloped with the men of their choice. 1905 Moraa Ng’iti, a Gusii medicine woman led an anti- Those who eloped hoped that with time their fathers would British movement in Gusiiland. Ng’iti possessed medicinal accept a more reasonable bride wealth. This active role of powers that she had previously employed to aid the Gusii in young women drastically changed the Gusii marriage system their battles against the neighboring Luo and Kipsigis before to the advantage of both young men and women. the arrival of the British. Once the British made their debut in This role played by women in transforming the Abagusii Gusiiland, Ng’iti used her medicinal powers and influence to marriage system was, however, not appreciated or recognized mobilize the Gusii to fight the new enemy and his equally as it was labeled as a form of deviant behavior (Shadle, new weaponry (guns and bullets). However, she was arrested, 2006). Instead the role played by male traditional leaders tortured and imprisoned (Ochieng, 1974). which was mostly reactionary in stabilizing payment of At the same period, Otenyo Nyamaterere, a Gusii man, dowry was recognized and given prominence, (Masese, killed a colonial administrator, Northcote as part of resistance 2011). to colonial rule. After this killing, Otenyo was arrested, These examples, indeed, demonstrate that during the tortured and beheaded by the colonial government. His head colonial period the Abagusii women were actively involved was then shipped to England where it’s kept up to date. in determining the destiny of the community through their Despite the fact that these two incidents aimed at active role in leadership. However, either by omission or resisting colonialism, it’s the role of Otenyo that is mostly commission (tactical) their role in leadership in most Gusii recognized and eulogized. In June 2013 the Abagusii Culture discourses is rarely acknowledged. and Development Council, for example, demanded an In postcolonial period, very few women among the apology and compensation from Britain for the killing of Abagusii have participated in elective leadership. For Otenyo, (Ochoro, 2013). However, there was silence on the example, the first woman to contest for parliamentary role played by Moraa Ng’iti. This raises the question of the position was Hon. Catherine Nyamato in 1992 in West role of women leadership in the community. Mugirango constituency where she lost to Hon. Henry In 1930s, when bride wealth had increased drastically Obwocha. Though Nyamato lost in this election, the Kenya beyond the reach of many young men, most of them opted not African National Union (KANU) party nominated her to to marry. This led to a high number of single women of parliament making her the first woman from the community marriageable age than any other time in the living history of to go to parliament. In 1997, a second woman, Esther the Abagusii. The immediate response to high bride wealth Nyang’ate contested the South Mugirango parliamentary seat was that many fathers started forcing their daughters to get through the Kenya National Congress party (KNC) where she Tele: E-mail address: [email protected] © 2019 Elixir All rights reserved 53001 Ednah N Masita / Elixir Social Studies 129 (2019) 53000-53004 Garnered only 31 out of the 22,604 casted votes. In the 2013 However, at the political sphere, the implementation of National elections, only three women were cleared to contest the two-thirds gender rule has been a hard nut to crack. An for parliamentary seats. These women were Rebecca attempt by the Kenya National Assembly to come up with a Kwamboka Otachi who contested the Kitutu Chache North formula on how to achieve this principle became a cropper, constituency through the Farmers Party of Kenya, Beatrice (Muiruri, 2012). For example, the suggestion that some Nyakambi of PICK (North Mugirango constituency) and electoral units should be reserved strictly for women was Naomi Bosire of RBK (Bomachoge constituency). None of rejected as infringing on people’s rights to choose their these women was elected to parliament, (Ndubi, 2014). leaders. Yet, there was a bigger danger that if parliament A critical analysis on women participation in elective under the new constitution failed to achieve the two-thirds leadership among the Abagusii shows that it’s only after the gender rule, it would be declared unconstitutional. The fear of introduction of multi-party form of democracy that women this scenario prompted the Attorney General to seek advisory started presenting themselves for elective leadership opinion from the Supreme Court on how this requirement positions. This observation is also reflected at national level. should be implemented. For instance, during the single party era, spanning from 1969 In December 2012, however, the majority opinion of the to 1991, only 12 women were elected as members of Supreme Court advised that the two-thirds gender rule in the parliament, while 8 were nominated as compared to 805 and constitution must not to be fulfilled during 2013 National 502 men who were elected and nominated respectively. This election. Instead the judges held that article (81b) was to be represented less than 2% of the 188 elected members of implemented gradually over a period of time until it is fully parliament, (Okello, 2010). achieved by August 2015. This opinion was dismissed by the During the first election after introduction of multi-party chief justice who held that the constitutional provision was system of governance in 1992, the number of women who effective immediately and should be applied during the participated in elective leadership increased nationally. For March, 2013 polls. example, a total of 50 women sought party nominations in the Despite this debate surrounding the implementation of 1992 National Elections. Out of this 19 succeeded in getting the two-thirds gender rule, it is clear that the Kenyan party nominations through various political parties and went government has resorted to legalism as a way of ensuring through the rigorous political campaign process. After the women take part in elective leadership positions. The general election only six were eventually elected to assumption in this approach is that the legal requirement will parliament. be a solution to the structural factors that have impended In the subsequent general election of 1997, out of the 881 women participation in politics. parliamentary candidates who sought nominations through This representation of women participation in elective various political parties nationally, only 150 were female. Out leadership positions as a legal entity has three interconnected of these, only 50 women secured nomination by the various effects: discursive effect (what is discussed and not political parties and only a paltry 4 were elected into discussed); the subjectification effect (how people are thought parliament. In 2002 out of the 200 women who secured about and how they think about themselves) and the lived nomination only 9 were elected. effect. For example, the legal requirement of the two-thirds The increase of women participation in elective gender rule puts focus on women as the ones who need leadership positions since 1992 can be attributed to many assistance/help, limiting consideration of socio-cultural factors. Key among them is advocacy by civil society for context (discursive effect). In effect it creates women as the greater inclusion of women in leadership positions and “problem”, affecting how women think about themselves and pressure by International development partners on the how others

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