Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
FINAL REPORT
Submitted to:
The Youth Agenda (YAA) Woodlands Court, Kirichwa Lane, Off Ngong Road PO Box 10174 00100, GPO Nairobi Kenya. Tel 254-20-2022026 ; Fax 254-20-3559212 E-mail: info@youthagenda.org www.youthagenda.org Funded by:
April 2012 Prepared and Submitted by AWUOR PONGE and AGUKOH ABDULAZIZ ODHIAMBO
African Policy Centre (APC); Koditex Consulting Office, Corner House, Kimathi Street Mama Ngina Street Junction, P.O. Box 6314 00100 GPO Nairobi; Telephone Mobile: +254 721 962 660 E-Mail: pongeweb@yahoo.co.uk ; awuorponge@gmail.com
Table of Contents
Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................. i List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. iii Abbreviations and Acronyms .......................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... vi Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Background and Introduction ........................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Study Justification .................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Objectives and Scope of the Study......................................................................................... 10 1.3 Aims of the Study................................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Study Methodology ................................................................................................................ 11 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Women and Political Participation in Perspective ................................................................. 13 2.2 Women Participation in Kenya in Retrospect ........................................................................ 15 2.3 Young Women Participation in Perspective .......................................................................... 18 2.4 Institutions for Women Representation and Inclusion in Kenya ........................................... 20 Study Findings ............................................................................................................................... 23 3.1 Political Parties Existence in Kenya....................................................................................... 23 3.2 Youth Participation in Party Youth Leagues.......................................................................... 30 3.2.1 Political Party Youth Leagues ........................................................................................ 30 3.2.2 Participation of the Youth in Political Parties ................................................................ 31 3.2.3 Role of the Youth Leagues in Political Parties .............................................................. 33 3.2.4 Youth Registration as Voters ......................................................................................... 34 3.3 Status of Young Women Participation in Political Parties .................................................... 36 3.3.1 Women Concentration in Absolute Numbers ................................................................ 41 3.3.2 Leadership of Women in Political Parties ...................................................................... 42 3.4 Role of Young Women in Political Parties ............................................................................ 43 3.4.1 Women in Party membership the numbers speaking .................................................. 43 3.4.2 Assessment of the roles of young women ...................................................................... 45 3.5 The Challenges to Young Women in Political Parties Leadership ........................................ 46 3.5.1 Intimidation from male officials .................................................................................... 46 3.5.2 Male Chauvinism and Patriarchal Society ..................................................................... 46 3.5.3 Financial handicaps ........................................................................................................ 46 3.5.4 Inadequacy of Awareness............................................................................................... 47 3.5.5 Violence against women ................................................................................................ 47 3.5.6 Socio-economic challenges ............................................................................................ 47 3.5.7 Inadequate mentorship and hostile political terrain ....................................................... 47 3.5.8 Dangling in the middle ................................................................................................... 47 3.6 Addressing the Challenges ........................................................................................................... 48 3.6.1 Training and Internship .................................................................................................. 48 3.6.2 Civic Education and Empowerment ............................................................................... 48 3.6.3 Lobbying for nominations .............................................................................................. 48 3.6.4 Resource Mobilisation.................................................................................................... 48 3.6.5 Capitalising on the Constitution and affirmative action ................................................ 48 3.6.6 Technology and the power of networking...................................................................... 49 i
3.6.7 Mentorship programmes ................................................................................................ 49 3.6.8 Gender mainstreaming in party organs .......................................................................... 49 3.6.9 Recruitment and early interventions .............................................................................. 49 3.7 Young Women and the Constitution ............................................................................................ 50 3.7.1 Affirmative Action of the new Constitution .................................................................. 50 3.7.2 Capitalizing on Affirmative Action................................................................................ 50 3.8 Empowering Young Women.................................................................................................. 52 3.8.1 Working with the Civil Society Organisations .............................................................. 52 3.8.2 Working with men for women empowerment ............................................................... 53 4 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 56 4.1 Representation in political parties .......................................................................................... 56 4.1.1 Politics of patronage ....................................................................................................... 56 4.1.2 Beating the legal threshold ............................................................................................. 56 4.1.3 Numbers not adding up .................................................................................................. 56 4.1.4 Disappointing female membership registration ............................................................. 56 4.2 Participation in political parties ............................................................................................. 57 4.2.1 Wavering democratic foothold ....................................................................................... 57 4.2.2 Sex as a political tool ..................................................................................................... 57 4.2.3 Brief-case political parties .............................................................................................. 57 4.2.4 Changing the traditional mindset ................................................................................... 57 Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 58 5.1 Political Parties....................................................................................................................... 58 5.1.1 Aggressive Recruitment Drives ..................................................................................... 58 5.1.2 Gender Mainstreaming in Party Structures .................................................................... 58 5.1.3 Compliance with Legislative Provisions on Equity ....................................................... 58 5.1.4 Data Management .......................................................................................................... 59 5.2 Registrar of Political Parties ................................................................................................... 59 5.2.1 Ascertaining the Existence of Party Physical Offices .................................................... 59 5.2.2 Data Disaggregation ....................................................................................................... 59 5.2.3 Political Education ......................................................................................................... 59 5.3 Womens Movement .............................................................................................................. 60 5.3.1 Mentorship Programmes ................................................................................................ 60 5.3.2 Structure participation of young women ........................................................................ 60 5.4 Civil Society Organisations.................................................................................................... 60 5.4.1 Alliance of Women and Youth Associations ................................................................. 60 5.4.2 Working with the Registrar of Political Parties ............................................................. 60 5.4.3 Monitoring the Implementation of the New Constitution .............................................. 61 5.5 Young Women ....................................................................................................................... 61 5.5.1 Affirmative Action for the Youth................................................................................... 61 5.5.2 Revitalising the Youth Leagues in Political Parties ....................................................... 61 5.5.3 Profile and Networking .................................................................................................. 62 5.5.4 Young Womens Forum ................................................................................................. 62
References .............................................................................................................................................. 63 Appendix 1 Survey Questionnaire .................................................................................................. 66 Appendix 2 Key Informant Interview Guide .................................................................................. 67 Appendix 3 Political Parties surveyed ............................................................................................ 68 Appendix 4 Political Parties registration by age ............................................................................. 70
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List of Tables
Table 1: Proportion of Women in Political and Major Institutions, 2012.............................................. 16 Table 2: Elected and Nominated Women in Kenyas National Assembly, 1963 2012 ...................... 18 Table 3: Womens Participation in Decision making by age. ................................................................ 19 Table 4: Political Party representation in Parliament ............................................................................. 25 Table 5: Top 20 Political Parties by Registration (Registrar) ................................................................ 25 Table 6: Political Parties surveyed ......................................................................................................... 29 Table 7: Names of Political Party Youth Leagues ................................................................................. 30 Table 8: Top 20 Youth party membership percentages ......................................................................... 32 Table 9: Top 20 Youth party membership absolute numbers ................................................................ 32 Table 10: Youth Registration as Voters by Province ............................................................................. 34 Table 11: Top 20 Female Membership Absolute Numbers ................................................................ 37 Table 12: Top 20 Female Membership Ratios Percentages ................................................................ 37 Table 13: Party Female Membership in Percentages (Registrar)........................................................... 38 Table 14: Statistics on Women from Surveyed Political Parties ........................................................... 40 Table 15: Top 20 Parties with Women concentration in absolute numbers (Registrar) ........................ 41 Table 16: Top 15 Parties with Women concentration in absolute numbers (Survey) ........................... 42 Table 17: Women Officials in Political Parties...................................................................................... 43 Table 18: Women Youth Membership in Political Parties .................................................................... 44 Table 19: Gender Representation in the Local Authorities .................................................................... 45 Table 20: Women MPs in the Tenth Parliament and their Responsibilities .......................................... 55
List of Figures
Figure 1: Statistics on Past performance of women .............................................................................. 16 Figure 2: Student participation in various decision making processes ................................................. 20 Figure 3: Youth SMS Survey on Political Party membership ................................................................ 27 Figure 4: 18 25 year old registered voters ......................................................................................... 34 Figure 5: 26 30 year old registered voters ......................................................................................... 35 Figure 6: 31 35 year old registered voters ......................................................................................... 35
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NARC NARC K NEPAD NDI NLP NP NPK NPP NVP NSA ODM PDP PDU PICK PNU PNU Alliance POA POH PPA PP K PPK PPP RBK RPP SAFINA SC SDP SID SONU SPK SSA NVP TIP TSC UDF UDM UN UNDP UNESCO UPK VIPA WDP WILDAF Kenya WOSWA WSP
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
National Rainbow Coalition National Rainbow Coalition Kenya New Partnership for African Development National Democratic Institute National Labour Party Nuru Party National Party of Kenya National Patriotic Party National Vision Party Non-State Actors Orange Democratic Movement Peoples Democratic Party Party of Democratic Unity Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya Party of National Unity Party of National Unity Alliance Party of Action Party of Hope Political Parties Act Peoples Party of Kenya Progressive Party of Kenya Peoples Patriotic Party of Kenya Restore and Build Kenya Registrar of Political Parties Safina Party Smart Citizens Social Democratic Party of Kenya Society for International Development Students Organisation of Nairobi University Shirikisho Party of Kenya Saba Saba Asili National Vision Party The Independent Party Teachers Service Commission United Democratic Forum Party United Democratic Movement United Nations United Nations Development Programme United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation Unity Party of Kenya Vijana Progressive Alliance Wiper Democratic Party Women in Law and Development in Africa Kenya Chapter Women Students Welfare Association Women Shadow Parliament
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Youth Agenda team lead by the Chief Executive Officer, Susan Kariuki and the Programme Manager, Judy Nguru for initiating this project. I also wish to acknowledge the input of UN Women for financing this study. I wish to recognize the input of the Research Assistant for this assignment, Mr. Abdul Odhiambo Agukoh and to all the respondents from the political parties which were surveyed, we cannot name you all by name, but we are really grateful to you for having taken your time to provide us with details about your respective political parties. To the members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that have been actively engaged in understanding the role of participation in multiparty democracies and the new Constitutional dispensation, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of International Affairs and the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya Chapter), Im very grateful for your contribution and supply of reading material. Im also grateful to Ruth Wanjiru Kibue of the Office of the President for information about the operations of the provincial administration. To Lucy Ndungu, the Registrar of Political Parties in Kenya, and Mr. Lenard Rotich of the ICT Department at the Registrars Office, Im very grateful for making registration data easily accessible. Last but definitely, not least: to the Key Informants, who took their time from their very busy schedules to listen to us and provide us with detailed qualitative data that has definitely boosted and supplemented the quantitative information generated from the survey. These were: Kingwa Kamencu, Mitchelle Ayoro Osok, Caren Nasimiyu Wakoli, Tabitha Njoroge, Roseline E. A. Idele, Caroline Ruto, Martha Wangari Wanjira, Benard Wakoli, Lucy Ndungu, Dr. Owuor-Olungah and Prof. Winnie V. Mitullah.
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Executive Summary
It seems therefore, that to enhance their own roles in national leadership and politics, young people may have to begin by causing change in political regimes. The idea that the youth need to take over the reins of power in a complete generational transition is fast gaining popularity among young activists and leaders instead of embarking on an exclusive process of change, young people have the potential to inspire and lead the rest of Kenyans in a democratic process that should lead to a rejuvenation of the national psyche and alternative leadership recruitment.1 This Report presents findings from a baseline study carried out in Kenya from the political parties that are operating in the country. The study was carried out by the Youth Agenda for the Gender and Governance Project supported by the UN Women. It sought to establish the status of young women in political parties in Kenya in order to inform decision-making about any possible interventions, for advocacy purposes, identifying research priorities and generally contributing to the national and international literature on participation of young women in political parties. The study was justified on the ground that there was evidence that a plethora of studies have concentrated on women in general and also youth in general. However, there has never been a deliberate attempt to study specifically the participation of young women, and more so, in political party affairs or activities. The main objective of this study was to determine the status of youth (that is young women) within key political parties in Kenya. The baseline assessment collected both qualitative and quantitative data that tried to assess the following issues: the existence of political parties; the existence of youth leagues within these political parties and their mandate thereof; youth membership (especially young women) in political parties; and the roles young women play within the political parties. The survey in essence, sought to tackle two issues: the representation of young women (in terms of numbers) and the participation of young women (in terms of roles) in political parties. Data was collected in the month of February 2012 from a cross-section of political parties, which are provisionally registered. There were 35 political parties surveyed out of the 54 provisionally registered parties, representing 64.8%. However, the response rate was 57.1% with 20 out of the 35 surveyed political parties providing information for the study. Of the political parties surveyed and those that responded, 35% of them are represented in Parliament. The survey targeted specifically the Chief Executive Officers of the respective political parties, and in their absence, information was provided by available officials of the party or the party secretariat. The study combined qualitative and quantitative methods and a desk review of literature on women and youth participation in political parties globally and laying emphasis in the African region. Key informants were interviewed to help boost the knowledge base on the participation of young women. They were drawn from the persons concerned with the registration of political parties, gender and development experts, senior researchers and policy analysts in gender and governance, university lecturers, representatives from feminists organisations, young women political aspirants, CSOs, young
Omondi, George (2010) The Student Movement and Youth Organisations in Kenyas Political Development: A Recent History In Okoth Okombo (ed) Civil Society and Governance in Kenya since 2002: Between Transition and Crisis. Nairobi: ARRF and Heinrich Bll Stiftung. pp. 113 134.
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representatives in the political parties and also present young women leaders in institutions of higher learning. Lastly, a stakeholders validation workshop was convened to subject the draft report to the rigour of analysis and help identify areas for amendment. The analysis of the data has situated the findings within the context of the literature reviewed and identifying recurrent themes in line with the study objectives and guidance from the key informant guide, thereby setting out implications for each of the findings for advocacy, research, policy and practice. Chapter 1 of this document deals with the background and introduction to the study. It also outlines the study objectives and justification, thereby giving also the methodology of the study including data collection and analysis. A critical observation of this chapter is that the Constitution provides that women and men have the right to equal treatment, including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. This study does recognize that for effective planning purposes, it is usually good to have statistical facts about an object. It has been observed that apart from the electoral process, the number of women has increased in decision-making positions, although women still face a number of challenges in theses critical areas of development. The study appreciated that there has never been a deliberate attempt to study specifically the participation of young women, and more so, in political party affairs or activities, therefore, this was a ground-breaking study in its own right. Chapter 2 of this Report highlights the literature reviewed. The literature has stressed on the importance of having committed and effective leadership at all levels and the role of women and men in promoting the required changes in attitudes, behaviour and practices that limit womens and girls rights, capabilities and access to opportunities, including young women, women with disabilities, elderly women and women with special need. Given examples from the U.S. experience indicates that despite the increase in the number of women in higher education there was no remarkable expansion reflected in a concomitant increase in political participation. A success story from Africa is also given, that of Rwanda, in which the first post-genocide parliamentary elections of October 2003 that saw women achieve nearly 50 percent representation. The review has also dealt extensively with the statistical trends of Parliamentary representation in Kenya since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in1992. The literature review has also given a picture of the present levels of participation of the young women in political party activities and the windows of opportunity that have come with the new Constitution. It has been established elsewhere in the literature that young womens participation is necessary in politics and especially in the political party activities. There has been a desire to put the issues affecting the young women on the political agenda of the country, but this cannot be effected without the necessary evidence of their level of participation. While studies have been done by NGOs and Women Organisations on the level of participation of women in political party affairs and national politics in general, the studies have never disaggregated data based on age and sex. This study, is therefore, a departure from the past and is a bold attempt to try to bring this much needed data which is expected to help shape future engagement with young women in political parties and ultimately to change the political landscape in the country. Chapter 3 of the Report is on the key study findings. The findings reveal that the participation of women in Parliament is quiet impressive relative to their numbers. Out of the 16 elected female legislators, 6 are full Cabinet Ministers and 5 are Assistant Ministers. What is shocking is that there is not a single woman legislator who chairs a Parliamentary Committee. They are either Vice Chairpersons or just mere members of the Committees. They can do better by demanding even more responsibilities in Parliament. It is worth noting though, that there is not a single young woman presently in Parliament. Looking at the percentage representation, the figures are still far much below the threshold with women Ministers accounting for only 15% and Assistant Ministers accounting for only 10.9%. The percentage representation of women in 2
the National Assembly is 9.9% while the Permanent Secretaries, women account for only 13.6%. The nearest that women representation has moved to the legal threshold is for District Officers where they have a 22.3% representation and 21.4% for female Deputy Secretaries. Women still have a long way to go if we are to aspire for the Constitutional threshold. Political parties are supposed to be vehicles of national transformation, research, policy formulation and implementation, innovation and welfare improvement. Political parties are supposed to provide an avenue for the public to associate with their leaders and learn of their policies and vision for the country. They also represent democracy and freedom of association in Kenya. At the moment, no political party is fully registered and 54 are just but provisionally registered. So they are in full gear recruiting in the hope of beating the deadline. However, at the moment about five political parties have applied for consideration for full registration in compliance with the law. Almost all political parties surveyed do not have branches in more than 23 Counties as provided for by the Political Parties Act of 2011. If anything, most of them operate from the National office, which are either in Nairobi and its environs, with a few in Nakuru and Mombasa. Information about the physical locations as provided by the Registrar has changed for a good number of political parties, but they have not communicated the changes to the Registrar. The Youth Leagues are ideally meant to enhance the participation of the young people. It is their entry point into politics. The Youth Leagues in a political party serve to inform the thinking and bringing in of innovative ideas to the party. In terms of registration as voters, the youth continue to register impressive statistics, accounting for about 6 million of the registered 11 million voters accounting for 60% of the total registered voters, and this figure is expected to rise as the youth continue to wait for their identification documents to be processed. The role of young women in political parties has been identified first and foremost be to engender party policies looking at the policies and ensuring that they address issues pertaining to young women. They should ensure gender parity in political parties. However, there is a feeling that there should be no discrimination in terms of roles, with young women being able to perform the roles that any other member of the political party can perform. Chapter 4 of the Report gives a brief of the study conclusions drawing from the study findings and from the literature review including information from the Key Informants. It gives a bleak picture of the participation of the young women in political party activities and their representation. It also gives the gaps that have been identified and areas that need urgent action. It sets the pace for the political parties as they should be able to locate themselves in terms of membership registration and giving due consideration to the importance attached to gender balance in party representation and membership. The Conclusion is divided into two sections summarising the dual mandate of the study in finding the representation in political parties in terms of numbers and also the participation of the young women in terms of their roles. In terms of representation, the Report indicates that there is still a predominance of the males in party membership although the figures of the women are rising slowly as parties race to beat the legal threshold. Only 8 political parties have registered more than 10, 000 female members each, with National Patriotic Party (NPP) leading with 23, 750 followed by NARC Kenya with 18, 845. At position 8 is the FORD Kenya with a female membership registration of 11, 992. All the other parties have less than 10, 000 registered female members. In terms of women registration in percentages, it is important to note that there are only two parties in which women out-number men. These are the National Patriotic Party with 65% and the Muungano Development Movement Party of Kenya with 52%.
In terms of participation, the Report indicates that political parties as they exist in Kenya today have not taken a strong democratic foothold. There is still the practice of relegation of members of divergent opinions from that held as true by the top party leadership. Sex is still used as a tool of trade and in most cases, it is the male party leaders who handpick the officials for the young women leadership in political parties, and in most cases, they end up being either the wives or daughters of prominent male officials and in extreme cases even their girl friends. Very many political parties do not have physical offices. Most operate as brief-case in that an office is only there for strategic purposes, but there is no staff working in the offices. Last but not least, Chapter 5 gives the study recommendations for advocacy, policy and practice. The Report concludes with recommendations that there is need for integrating youth theory, policy and practice. The recommendations are important for advocacy at the national level and also at the grassroots, for each of the key stakeholders in the political participation and representation of young women in Kenya. The recommendations have been divided into five main sections each for a key stakeholder in this study. For the Registrar of Political Parties, there is need to ascertaining the existence of party Physical Offices, appropriate data disaggregation and a one stop shop for all data on political party membership, representation and participation. There is also need for political education of the populace since there is a lot of ignorance on the operations and mandate of the office of the Registrar of Political Parties. For the political parties, there is need for aggressive recruitment drives to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Political Parties Act 2011 and also for party popularity in the grassroots. There is need for effective data management as the data available is very difficult to access and utilise as it is not disaggregated by age, disability status, ethnicity and level of marginalisation or disability. There is need for gender mainstreaming in party structures and making budgetary provisions for women activities. They should also seek to comply with legislative provisions on equity as enshrined in the Constitution and reflected in the PPA 2011. The Womens Movement should revamp their mentorship programmes, with associations like KEWOPA beefing up their activities in mentoring and empowering the young women. Youth organisations like the Youth Agenda and the African Youth Trust (AYT) can also beef up their training programmes, especially the ones targeting the young women. There is also need for a structured participation of young women in the Womens movement so there is gradual transition and succession of leadership with the young women taking over leadership of the Womens movement in successive steps. As for the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), there is need for an Alliance of Women and Youth Associations, this has been occasioned by the apparent dangling in the middle of the young women who may not fit well in the youth organisations and they are also secluded in the womens associations because of age. By having this alliance, it will mean that the interests of the young women will be taken care of and they will cease to dangle in the middle. The CSOs also need to work with the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ensure that political parties are put on toes in so far as ensuring the compliance with legal provisions on equity. They can also play a critical role in monitoring the implementation of the new constitution. As for the young women, themselves, there is need for capitalising on the affirmative action for the youth, even though this should not translate into being just idle waiting to be hand-picked to fulfil legal requirement on representation. They should play a key role in ensuring the revitalisation of the Youth 4
Leagues in political parties, helping especially with profiling and networking. They should also actively engage in young womens forums where issues affecting the young women are comprehensively addressed and fore-grounded for purposes of identifying priority areas and giving actionable suggestions on how to better the representation and participation of the young women.
Kenya, Republic of (2010) The Constitution of Kenya. Nairobi: Government Printer. This is provided for in Chapter 4 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 under the Bill of Rights on Equality and freedom from discrimination, Article 27 Clauses 3, 6 and 8 and also Article 100.
grow older in a nutshell, age determines the level of decision-making by the women.3 The study also indicate that employment status also does influence the level of decision-making, with those employed for cash making 80% against 63% for those who are not employed at all. As for education being a determinant of level of decision-making, it indicates that those who have no education at all make relatively few household decisions as compared to those with secondary education and above.4 It is an appreciated fact that institutions of higher learning have acted as nursery beds for national leadership development and also acknowledges that they are incubators and the link between student leadership, national youth leadership and national party politics. In fact, most of the voters in Kenya are young people, and it is the youth who form the campaign machinery mounted by individual politicians and parties at election time. They are also the ones who conduct civic and voter education ahead of polls. In sum, the youth play greater roles in politics.5 Some scholars have observed that only a select number of individuals, generally males of a particular generation and social status; have been actively involved in political decision-making. She notes that others are conspicuous by their absence and have to accept unquestioningly those chosen to be their leaders, and among these, she lists the young women, who are either invisible or erased from overt political influence.6 However, in as much as the youth, especially women have been given a raw deal in decision-making organs and governance structures in political parties, it is important to celebrate the fact that the youth are the vanguards rather than the vandals of Kenyas political development. Every milestone of the countrys political development is not without indelible marks of their contribution.7 Gender may be defined as a system of values that shapes the relationships between individuals of the same or different sexes, between individuals and society, and between individuals and power; while feminism is both a theoretical framework and a social movement that is cognizant of and tries to correct the continuing inequalities of power between men and women across all social classes.8 This study in as much as it concentrates on the participation of young women in political party leadership, is grounded on the firm belief that there is need for gender equity, even as it is guided by the framework of feminism to correct the existing inequalities. Citizenship is distinguishable by these three components namely: Civil rights those pertaining to individual rights such as liberty, freedom of speech, equality before the law, right to own property, and right to work; Political rights those regarding access to decision making through suffrage and being able to run for office in elections; and Social rights those concerning such collective services as welfare, security, and education.9 This study is mainly concerned with the political component, but it should be
Sivi-Njonjo, Katindi (2010) Youth Fact Book: Infinite Possibility or Definite Disaster? Nairobi: IEA. Ibid. p. 153. 5 Omondi, George (2010) The Student Movement and Youth Organisations in Kenyas Political Development: A Recent History In Okoth Okombo (ed) Civil Society and Governance in Kenya since 2002: Between Transition and Crisis. Nairobi: ARRF and Heinrich Bll Stiftung. pp. 122 123. 6 Mwangola, Mshai (2011) Youth and Politics: Generational Missions In Katindi Sivi-Njonjo, Angela Kitonga and Awuor Ponge (Eds), Youth Research Compendium. Nairobi: IEA. pp. 225 246. 7 Omondi, George (2010) The Student Movement and Youth Organisations in Kenyas Political Development: A Recent History In Okoth Okombo (ed) Civil Society and Governance in Kenya since 2002: Between Transition and Crisis. Nairobi: ARRF and Heinrich Bll Stiftung. P. 129. 8 Stromquist, Nelly P. (1995) Romancing the State: Gender and Power in Education, Comparative Education Review, 39(4): 428. 9 Marshall, T. H. (1964) Class, Citizenship, and Social Development , Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. pp. 71-72, as quoted in Stromquist, Nelly P. (1995) Romancing the State: Gender and Power in Education, Comparative Education Review, 39(4): 423 454.
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realised that politics in itself is a complete way of life that cannot exist in isolation, so it must embrace also the social, the civil and even the economic components as each of these complement one another. The youth have energy and the ability to take risks. This has in most cases helped in organizing and executing political rallies in the country side, and also to make strategic alliances that for example, ensured the success of the Young Turks during the fight for re-introduction of multi-party politics in Kenya in the early 1990s. Those who engineered the struggle were young charismatic Kenyan youth. They managed successful political rallies that led to what has been popularly referred to as the Second Liberation of Kenya. It is admitted that the presence of the youth in political parties, allow new ideas and new talents to come up. By political parties giving the youth representation in the political sphere, the youth in return will help the party reach out to young voters and in essence giving young people a chance to engage in policy debate and activism. Through Youth Leagues or Wings, the young people are able to develop skills and networks that will help them in their careers. It therefore goes without saying that parties with a strong youth presence will have a crucial advantage in the very near future as the youth are capturing their space now, not as the leaders of tomorrow. It has been observed that there has been an increase in women participation in politics since the beginning of transition politics in 1992. They also observe that apart from the electoral process, the number of women has increased in decision-making positions, although women still face a number of challenges in theses critical areas of development.10 Although the situation of women continues to improve in most countries, Kenya inclusive, women are disadvantaged in political participation and decision-making precisely because their numbers are comparatively lower than those of men.11 This definitely sets the agenda for this study, as it seeks to establish the actual figures from which continuous monitoring can be done and periodic evaluations conducted to determine any improvements or regressions from the baseline. In an article on Women in Leadership and Governance the writer decries the lack of institutional structures at the party level to enhance women participation. She observes that this position is exacerbated by the tendency of placing women in the ragbag category of women, youth and other vulnerable groups, which essentially projects not only their helplessness, but also their lack of key leadership qualities.12 Without active participation and incorporation of womens perspective at all levels of decision making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved. Democracy entails numbers; consequently, since women are the majority in Kenya, then their involvement in democratic development is vital.13
1.1
Study Justification
This study has been grounded on other studies that have been conducted concerning the participation and nature of engagement of women in governance and political party affairs. There has been a gender audit of
Mitullah, Winnie V & Owiti, Lillian A (2007) Women and the Politics of Transition In Peter Wanyande, Mary Omosa and Chweya Ludeki (Eds), Governance and Transition Politics in Kenya. Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press. p. 155. 11 Ibid. p. 156. 12 Oduol, Jacqueline A (2011) Women in Leadership and Governance In Okoth Okombo et al., (Eds) Challenging the Rulers: A Leadership Model for Good Governance. Nairobi: EAEP and Community Aid International. p. 178. 13 Kassilly, B. J. N & Onkware, K (2010) Struggles and Success in Engendering the African Public Sphere: Kenyan Women in Politics. Kenya Studies Review, 3(3):75.
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the 10th Parliament, especially laying special emphasis on the gains that the women have made in the implementation of the new Constitution of Kenya.14 There has also been a rapid gender assessment and audit of political parties in Kenya, especially laying emphasis on the participation and representation of women in management of political parties, a study conducted by the Women Shadow Parliament and supported by HIVOS.15 The need for effective participation of women in political party affairs have seen organisations come up with training manuals for political aspirants, others being specific to the women,16 while others are generally for the strengthening of party management17 and also for training the aspiring youthful leaders in matters of political campaign strategisation and how to mount successful political campaigns.18 Another important empowerment programme is the Political Leadership Development Programme (PLDP), which has been held annually by the Youth Agenda and supported by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftng (FES). It ideally tries to tap on youthful leadership from the institutions of higher learning and also aspiring leaders. This has had tremendous impact given that some of the past participants in this programme are now in Parliament and others are actively in politics through the Pioneers for Change Programme. The African Youth Trust (AYT) has also been actively engaged in the empowerment programmes particularly for the young women. They seek to create awareness of the opportunities available for the young women and how to help them actualise their rights after being empowered. At the moment, the AYT is working with 27 young women equally drawn from each of the three regions namely: Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos.19 Other studies that have been done in Kenya include those on women and political leadership in Kenya, especially profiling the achievement of key women leaders as an inspirational material for young women aspiring for political positions and the challenges they have faced in climbing the political ladder.20 During the transition period from the KANU regime to the NARC government in 2002, some scholars have attempted to diagnose the increased participation of women in politics since the transition period in 1992 with the introduction of multiparty politics, and they also try to understand why the disparities continue. They conclude with the assertion that there is need to foster greater networking and coordination between the different arms of the government and womens institutions and the organisation that facilitate womens activities.21 Others have been studies on the role of women in good governance and setting the standards for good leadership through mentorship22 while others still have written on the need to improve Kenyan womens electoral performance and especially to strengthen their political participation in all spheres, suggesting that there is need to device strategies to redress their marginalisation. These may include affirmative action programmes and the removal of stereotyped culture.23 There is also available literature on the role of youth in politics, with some scholars addressing the issue of generational transformation and how the youth can learn from the past trends and the achievements that
FIDA Kenya (2010) Gender Audit Study of the 10th Parliament. Nairobi: FIDA. WSP (2006) Rapid Gender Assessment and Audit of Political Parties in Kenya The Participation and Representation of Women in Management of Political Parties: An Unfinished Agenda in Kenya. Supported by HIVOS in Conjunction with the Womens Shadow Parliament Kenya. 16 CREAW (2006) Running for Political Office: A Handbook for Women Candidates. Nairobi: CREAW/AMWIK/HBS. 17 NDI (2007) Kenya: Political Party Handbook Strengthening Party Management. Nairobi: NDI. 18 NDI (2011) Leadership and Campaign Academy: Candidates Manual. Nairobi: NDI/USAID. 19 Comment by Jessica of the African Youth Trust (AYT) during the validation workshop on an earlier Draft of the Report. 20 Kamau, Nyokabi (2010) Women and Political Leadership in Kenya: Ten Case Studies. Nairobi: Heinrich Bll Stiftng. 21 Mitullah & Owiti, 2007:175. op cit. 22 Oduol, 2011. op cit. 23 Kassilly & Onkware, 2010:84. op cit.
14 15
have been made by the successive youth generations starting from the Mau Mau generation to the Uhuru generation. She concludes by making a bold statement that the Generation Next has already created an expansion of political space for youth and that this is likely to continue, ensuring that this category of the population will play a politically significant role.24 Another study profiles the role of student movements and youth organisations in the development of politics in Kenya and making a bold claim that young people will define politics in line with their cultures and values and seek to drive it.25 In trying to identify the importance of demographics in participation, one recent study has given actual statistics on the participation of the female youth, especially in decision making.26 But it falls short of giving the participation statistics on young women participation in politics. On the participation of the Youth Leagues within political parties and democratisation, it has been stressed that like in all other organisations, effective leadership and management is critical for the success of political parties and political youth leagues, be it with regard to maintaining their continuity or status quo or for the purpose of effecting major changes. The type of leadership exercised in a particular political party or political Youth League affects the nature of organizational politics in general.27 From the foregoing, it is evident that a plethora of studies have concentrated on women in general and also youth in general. However, there has never been a deliberate attempt to study specifically the participation of young women, and more so, in political party affairs or activities. This study is therefore, a bold attempt to give figures and statistics to otherwise vain talk without supporting evidence. It seeks to go beyond female activists crying that women are under-represented in political party structures, to get into the details of actually how the under-representation takes place by giving statistics to the available qualitative information. It seeks to set a precedence and ground-breaking endeavor, since there is no indication of any literature that specifically addresses the issue of young women representation in political party structures. And last but not least, it seeks to be the first in the literature that addresses young women representation in political parties in Kenya.
1.2
The main objective of this study was to determine the status of youth (that is young women) within key political parties in Kenya. The baseline assessment collected both qualitative and quantitative data that tried to assess the following issues: the existence of political parties; the existence of youth leagues within these political parties and their mandate thereof; youth membership (especially young women) in political parties; and the roles young women play within the political parties. The survey in essence, sought to tackle two issues: the representation of young women (in terms of numbers) and the participation of young women (in terms of roles) in political parties.
24
Mwangola, 2011:244. op cit. Omondi, 2010:132 133. op cit. 26 Sivi Njonjo, 2010. op cit. 27 Kanyadudi, 2010:12. op cit.
25
10
1.3
The aims of the baseline research are to: (a) Provide a baseline from which to measure and evaluate change over time in the representation and participation of young women in political parties; (b) Elicit accurate data and identify current trends and patterns of representation and participation of young women in political parties; (c) Identify perspectives and find out experiences of young women, key informants and key stakeholders in relation to young womens participation in political parties; (d) Situate these perspectives and experiences within the respective political party contexts, with comparative best practice regionally and globally; (e) Identify priority concerns in order to inform decision making about advocacy priorities, future research, policy implications and practice.
1.4
Study Methodology
The study by its very nature was quantitative; however, care was taken to ensure that as much qualitative information was generated to account for the quantitative data. The Lead Consultant was assisted by one competent Research Assistant. Two tools (attached herewith as Appendix 1 and 2) were developed that guided the researchers in data collection namely: the survey questionnaire and the Key Informants guide. The process of developing the tools was all inclusively and had to be agreed on between the Client and the Consultant. The whole study was conducted in the month of February 2012. The study started with an initial survey of all the political parties that appeared in the list provided by the Registrar of Political Parties as those that were provisionally registered, as per the provisions of Kenya (2011). There were 54 political parties provisionally registered by the Registrar of Political Parties. Out of these, 35 were sampled based on convenience and accessibility. This represent 64.8% of the population and therefore very representative and of vital statistical significance. However, the response rate was 57.1% with 20 out of the 35 surveyed political parties providing information for the study. This still, is a statistically significant ratio. The list of all political parties surveyed is attached as Appendix 3. Of the political parties surveyed and those that responded, 35% of them are represented in Parliament. The survey targeted specifically the Chief Executive Officers of the respective political parties, and in their absence, information was provided by available officials of the party or the party secretariat. The study has also drawn from an earlier text messaging survey that was conducted by the Youth Agenda in December 2011, to find out the level of participation of the young people in Kenya in political parties. This level of participation was gauged through membership in political parties. The study attracted 90 respondents and the findings are well captured in Figure 3. The Key Informant Interviews specifically targeted experts in gender and development issues, women leadership and youth participation in politics. As such 11 Key Informant interviews were conducted, some face-to-face while others were done online with experts in different sectors as mentioned. Ideally, the Key Informant represented key stakeholders in the study namely: lecturers in gender and development; 11
representatives of feminist organisations; representatives of youth organisations; gender policy analysts, CSOs concerned with youth and women empowerment and female student leaders in institutions of higher learning. Information generated from the primary data was complemented with a comprehensive literature review for supplementary qualitative information, which shed light on some gray areas identified during the primary data collection. Additional information was also obtained from the Registrar of Political Parties and from the Civil Society Organisations that have conducted studies on party representation and youth and women empowerment, since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in Kenya namely: the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of International Affairs; the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA Kenya); the African Youth Trust (AYT) and the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD Kenya). Critical statistical information was also made available from the ICT Desk at the Registrar of Political Parties on status of party registration and disaggregation by gender and also by age. The information thus generated was analysed based on the data type. For the quantitative information, the data was entered in Excel sheets to generate comparative data which has been presented graphically. For the qualitative information, the data has been categorized and analysed on emerging thematic trends and concerns, in line with the initial objectives of the study and also based on the structure of the Key Informant Guide. After the critical analysis of the data, an initial Draft Report was submitted to Youth Agenda, and after comments, a revised Draft Report was prepared and shared with key stakeholders who subjected it to the rigour of analysis during the validation workshop. Thereafter, this Final Report is developed after incorporating all the comments from the plenary during the validation workshop.
12
2 Literature Review
This section ideally sets the pace for the study by placing it in context and reinforcing the philosophy behind the study design. In as much as the justification for the study is based on the understanding that no specific study has been done on the participation of young women in political parties in Kenya, there are other studies all the same that have been conducted that help feed into the present study. This literature review therefore, is concerned with finding relevant information on studies that have been conducted on the participation of women in political parties in Africa and around the world, contextualizing the study to the Kenya situation, particularly studies that have highlighted the challenges and achievements of women in politics, concluding with the participation of young women in perspective while emphasizing on the opportunities that have been open to the women in terms of structural and institutional reforms and how they can strategically position themselves to capitalize on all these.
2.1
Politics, Politicians, Policies. These are concepts about which women are socialized into feeling distant and alien: distant because these terms belong to the public sphere and alien because they invoke masculinity and power.28 It is argued that traditional conceptions of politics fail to pay attention to the significance of grass roots community mobilisation as sites for womens political participation just as those who participate in these activities may resist regarding what they do as politics, and their own politics as feminist. Instead, women often mobilize at the grass-roots around identifications that appear at first sight to reinforce sex stereotypes: as mothers, and guardians of community welfare.29 Some Scholars have defined democracy as expanded civil and political rights accompanied by a supportive political culture that functions to consolidate the democratic process;30 however, this and other extant definitions do not consider the treatment of women or their opportunities in this process.31 Efforts to enhance womens political participation have gained new urgency with the designation of numbers of women in politics as an indicator of womens empowerment, as enshrined in the third United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG). Increasing numbers of women have gained entry into the arena of representative politics in recent times. Yet the extent to which shifts in the sex ratio within formal democratic spaces translates into political influence, and into gains in policies that redress gendered inequities and inequalities remains uncertain. Enhancing the democratizing potential of womens political participation calls, we argue, for democratizing democracy itself: building new pathways into politics, fostering political learning and creating new forms of articulation across and beyond existing democratic spaces.32 According to Feminists, the correct question to ask when examining the impact of women in politics is not whether women can make a difference in the substance and forms of politics, but under which conditions can women in politics create social change by means of political action.33
Stromquist, Nelly P. (1995) Romancing the State: Gender and Power in Education, Comparative Education Review, 39(4): 423. 29 Kaplan, Temma (1997) Crazy for Democracy: Women in Grassroots Movements. London: Routledge. 30 Shin, Don Chull (1994) On the Third Wave of Democratization: A Synthesis and Evaluation of Recent Theory and Research, World Politics, 47(1): 136. 31 Stromquist, 1995. op cit., p. 427. 32 Cornwall, Andrea & Goetz, Anne Marie (2005) Democratizing Democracy: Feminist perspectives, Democratization, 12(5): 783 800. 33 Haavio-Mannila, Elima et al., (eds) (1985) Unfinished Democracy: Women in Nordic Politics, Oxford: Pergamon. p. 166.
28
13
The Convention on All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), signed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1978 and established as an international treaty by 1981, has become one of the most powerful tools to improve women's condition and status. The women of Africa meeting in Nairobi in October 2010 during the launch of the African Womens Decade, were inspired by international, regional and sub regional declarations, protocols and conventions, including the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals in particular Goal 3 aims to promote and strengthen womens empowerment and accelerate the attainment of gender equity and equality as part of overall human rights. They, therefore, stressed on the importance of having committed and effective leadership at all levels and the role of women and men in promoting the required changes in attitudes, behaviours and practices that limit womens and girls rights, capabilities and access to opportunities, including young women, women with disabilities, elderly women and women with special needs.34 Womens wings of political parties have rarely provided the essential incubating ground for women leaders, for female solidarity in parties, and for feminist policy proposals. Instead, womens wings are commonly captured by the spouses of male leaders and have developed a species of female sycophancy.35 Clearly, if the concern is to bring gender equality perspectives into politics and public policy, a focus on packing public space with female bodies is misplaced unless supported by efforts to bring gender issues into the many other spaces where political interests are formed.36 It is worth noting at this point, that Political Science has ignored women in such institutional politics as political parties and labour unions because their participation is low, and at the same time, it has failed to recognize other spaces where women are active and are contributing to redefinitions of the "political." This narrow view has led conventional political analysts to minimize also the role of low-income women who, through participation in forms of popular protest and collective strategies for economic survival, are creating new types of political action.37 It has also been observed that political parties have rarely assigned priority to gender issues or promoted women as candidates for office without being formally obliged to do so.38 Proof of the stubborn resistance of parties to womens leadership is their unwillingness to introduce internal leadership quotas. In Africa, only the African National Congress (ANC) has a quota for women in its National Executive Committee. There is a school of thought that education of the women does not necessarily translate into political participation. Evidence available from the U.S. experience indicates that this country registered an increase in the number of women in higher education from 30 percent in 1960 to 43 percent of all students in 1981. However, this remarkable expansion has not been reflected in a concomitant increase in political participation.39 This US example is similar to a case in Mozambique where almost 40% of parliamentarians are women, higher than most industrialised countries. But, as is well documented in many contexts40, this does not necessarily translate into increased status for women.41
Declaration made during the launch of the African Womens Decade at the Kenyatta International Conference (KICC) in Nairobi Kenya on 14 October 2010. It became known as the famous Nairobi Declaration on the African Womens Decade. 35 Tsikata, Dzodzi (2001) National Machineries for the Advancement of Women in Africa: Are they Transforming Gender Relations? Ghana: Third World Network-Africa. 36 Cornwall and Goetz, 2005 op cit., p. 787. 37 Stromquist, 1995 op cit., p. 427. 38 Cornwall and Goetz, 2005 op cit. 39 Norris, Pippa (1987) Politics and Sexual Equality. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 85. 40 Tinker, I. (2004). Quotas for Women in Elected Legislatures: Do They Really Empower Women? 27 Womens Studies International Forum, pp.531 546.
34
14
However, another example from Africa paints a different picture. In Rwanda, during the nine-year period of post-genocide transitional government, from 1994 to 2003, womens representation in Parliament (by appointment) reached 25.7 percent during which a new gender-sensitive constitution was adopted. But it was the first post-genocide parliamentary elections of October 2003 that saw women achieve nearly 50 percent representation. The dramatic gains for women are a result of specific mechanisms used to increase womens political participation, among them a constitutional guarantee, a quota system, and innovative electoral structures.42 The substantial progress toward gender empowerment achieved by Rwanda is supported by strong institutional measures, including policy and budgetary commitments, which seek to mainstream gender equality within government policy-making.43
2.2
In Kenya, women continue to be marginalized in many areas of society, especially in the sphere of leadership and decision making. According to a 2009 survey by the Ministry of Gender, only 30.9 per cent of those employed in Kenyas public service are women, 72 per cent of who are in the lower cadres. This same inequity exists in the judiciary, in the leadership of political parties, and in political representation: Women hold only about 10 per cent of the seats in the 10th Parliament.44 Despite the fact that females constitute 51% of the population, they constituted 8% of Members in National Assembly during the 9th Parliament; 6% of Ministers; 13% of Assistant Ministers; 3% of District Commissioners; 20% of District Officers; 13% of Councilors and 21% of Deputy Secretaries.45 Clearly, seen from this, apart from the Ambassadors/High Commissioners at 28%, there is no other position which is anywhere near the statutory provision for not more than two-thirds coming from any one gender in elective and appointive positions. According to the Womens Shadow Parliament, Kenya has got a political government and 52% of the population is Women. Given that 60% of the registered voters are women, sustainable development cannot be achieved where 50% of its population is not represented in its governance structures. Therefore enhanced women representation in party structures is essential if women are to have an impact in the decision-making process of political parties. However, from the audit it is evident that women are poorly represented in political parties.46
Parkes, Jenny & Heslop, Jo (2011). Stop Violence Against Girls in School: A cross-country analysis of baseline research from Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique. London: IoE and ActionAid International. p. 29. 42 Powley, Elizabeth (2003) Rwanda: Women Hold Up Half the Parliament. Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. p. 154. 43 Huggins, Allison & Randell, Shirley K. (2007) Gender Equality in Education in Rwanda: What is happening to our Girls? A Paper presented at the South African Association of Women Graduates Conference on Drop-outs from School and Tertiary Studies: What is Happening to our Girls? Capetown, May, 2007. 44 Kamau, Nyokabi (ed) (2008) Enhancing Womens Political Participation. Perspectives on Gender Discourse 6/08. Nairobi: Heinrich Bll Stiftung. p. iii. 45 IEA (2008) Profile of Womens Socio- Economic Status in Kenya. Nairobi: Institute of Economic Affairs. p. 35. 46 WSP (2006) Rapid Gender Assessment and Audit of Political Parties in Kenya The Participation and Representation of Women in Management of Political Parties: An Unfinished Agenda in Kenya. Supported by HIVOS in Conjunction with the Womens Shadow Parliament Kenya.
41
15
Rank/Position Ministers Assistant Ministers National Assembly Ambassadors / High Commissioners Permanent Secretaries Secretaries Deputy Secretaries Provincial Commissioners Deputy Provincial Commissioners District Commissioners Councillors District Officers
Total % Women 40 15.0% 46 10.9% 222 9.9% 48 16.7% 44 13.6% 22 9.1% 98 21.4% 8 12.5% 21 9.5% 219 8.2% 2,434 4.6% 940 22.3%
Source: DPM, Cabinet Office, Public Service Commission, Ngau & Mbathi (2010).
Figure 1: Statistics on Past performance of women In 2002 general elections, 64 (6.1%) out of the 1,257 parliamentary candidates were women. However, only 10 (4.8%) were elected. Another 8 women were nominated by individual political parties in an attempt to increase women representation in parliament. The 18 women represented only 8% of the National Assembly Membership. During the same period, women represented 13.3% of the civic authorities positions. However, the ratio is relatively low in relation to that of men. In the judiciary, women represent 38.4% of the judiciary service establishment but there is still room for improvement, in order to attain the 50:50 affirmative action policies. In the hotly contested 2007 General Elections, there were 269 female candidates out of the 2,548 total parliamentary candidates, up from 44 female aspirants out of the 1,015 legislative aspirants in 2002. However, only 15 women candidates made it to the 10th Parliament after going through campaigns that were marred by violence and other challenges. It is worthy noting however that 50-50 affirmative action was demonstrated in the nomination of women to the 10th Parliament with 6 women out of 12 being nominated. In the 2008 coalition cabinet, there are only 6 (15%) female Ministers out of the total 40 Ministers. Source: IEA, 2008: 36.
While affirmative action is highly rated as the way forward, it should be viewed as only one of the instruments for achieving equity and justice. Women must learn to exploit their numerical strength
16
combined with the larger political space occupied by mushrooming womens associations and lobbies. They must translate this sheer numerical strength into political power and influence.47 For the women of Africa to be relevant in this dispensation, they must create space within which to exercise their God given leadership abilities in order to have an impact on their societies and communities. There is need for innovativeness in leadership and the women must look beyond the horizon of political leadership and deviate further afield. In other words, they must deviate or die.48 Even though the language here seems to be that of advising the women to look for leadership elsewhere beyond political, the argument advanced in this paper is that what is political must be re-defined and that women play political roles quiet often without recognizing it. This paper is also in agreement with the position that to have an impact in the communities, women need governmental commitment and support in pursuit of their leadership goals.49 Likewise, for women to have an impact in the political parties, apart from their own initiatives to create space for themselves, the political parties must show a commitment and support to the women in their pursuit of leadership. One indicator of gender inequality in Kenya is the small number of women in decision making positions and other national governance structures. From the statistics indicated above, the 10th Parliament has about 10 per cent of women representation. This percentage is far much below the Constitutional threshold of 30%, and has serious implications on the articulation and implementation of womens agenda in Parliament.50 It is also agreed that the new Constitution is a gender responsive document that has led to the following gains for the women, among others: All forms of discrimination including discrimination against women are expressly outlawed; Women representation is guaranteed; and Increased number of women in all decision-making organs including in the devolved government.
47
Kangethe, Njeri (2007) Women and Leadership in Africa: A Case of Deviate or Die, In Kimani Njogu (ed) Governance and Development: Towards Quality Leadership in Kenya. Nairobi: Twaweza Communications. p. 145. 48 Ibid. p. 139. 49 Ibid. p. 159. 50 FIDA Kenya (2010) Gender Audit Study of the 10th Parliament. Nairobi: FIDA.
17
Table 2: Elected and Nominated Women in Kenyas National Assembly, 1963 2012 Year of Election Elected Women 0 0 1 4 4 2 2 6 4 9 16 Nominated Women 0 0 1 2 1 2 1 1 4 8 6 Total No. of Women in Parliament 0 0 2 6 5 4 3 7 8 17 22 Sum of Men and Women in Parliament 124 28 170 170 170 170 200 200 222 222 222 % of Women in Parliament 0.0 0.0 1.2 3.5 2.9 2.4 1.5 3.5 3.6 7.7 9.9
1963 1966 1969 1974 1979 1983 1988 1992 1997 2002 2007 Source: Various
2.3
The traditional incubators of political leaders have been trade unions, campus politics and political parties. They are also the crucibles in which interests are identified, debated, aggregated and promoted. These arenas foster styles of politics and forms of political apprenticeship that can exclude and silence women.51 Political apprenticeship is one of the routes via which representatives enter and engage in political activity, and which influence how they define and acquire the arts and activities of politics, and negotiate the boundaries of the political. It is important that the young women are exposed to apprenticeship especially in party politics, if they are to be expected to have an impact. One of the measures that has proved a best practice over time is that of enabling group-specific representation for women including reservations systems, such as those used to address the underrepresentation of ethnic or other minorities which can involve the creation of special electoral districts limiting competition to group members, or provisions for direct appointment to reserved seats in the legislature. A practical example of this is the case of Rwanda still, where the 2003 constitution increased exponentially the number of seats to be held by women in all structures of government. Women, as mandated in the constitution, hold 30 percent of seats in the Senate. And in the Chamber of Deputies, there are 24 seats that are reserved for women and are contested in women-only elections, that is, only women can stand for election and only women can vote.52 Be it as it may, the women organisations in Kenya have been grappling with this idea on how to come up with a workable formular to implement this affirmative action without actually infringing on the democratic rights and privileges of the men, but that has not yielded much. This possibly prompted the Justice Minister to draft a Bill seeking an amendment to the Constitution in so far as it prescribes the gender requirement as it may be difficult to achieve.
There was a mini-Election in 1966 which was necessitated by the defection of some members of Parliament from the ruling party to the opposition. The elections were carried out only in 28 affected Constituencies. 51 Cornwall and Goetz, 2005 op cit., p. 788. 52 Powley, Elizabeth (2003) Rwanda: Women Hold Up Half the Parliament. Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. pg. 156.
18
The expectation that the sex of representatives determines their interests undermines ideas about the accountability of politicians to party programmes. It is foolhardy to believe that a young woman, who has been pushed into the political leadership as a result of affirmative action, without the young woman actually having an interest in a political party position, will yield any tangible results for the political party. This therefore, calls for a revamped awareness creation and mentoring programme for the young women so that they see as their civic duty and responsibility to not only belong to a political party, but also to hold a position of leadership in the said political party. One lesson feminists have learned is that measures aimed to improve the condition of women can be effective only if accompanied by policies that seek to alter the balance of gender relations in society as a whole. Table 3: Womens Participation in Decision making by age.
Womens participation in decision making Age (Years) Making major household purchases Daily purchases of household needs Visit to her family and relatives Mens attitude towards wives participation in decision making Making Daily Visit to her major purchases of family and household household relatives purchases needs
15 19 50.5 68.2 60.7 20 24 61.5 78.0 66.9 25 29 64.8 81.6 70.2 30 34 68.9 83.9 75.7 Average 61.4 77.9 68.4 Source: Kenya, 2010a; Sivi-Njonjo, 2010: 152.
Young peoples participation is about sharing ideas, thinking for themselves, expressing their views effectively, planning, prioritising and being involved in the decision making processes. This participation can be exercised in different spheres such as school, at home and at the civic level through voting. However, the level of participation of the youth in Kenya has not been very impressive. Students participation for example in the choice of their leaders has been found to be very limited, as 62% of prefects in private schools and 39% of prefects in public schools are selected by teachers.53 Table 3 shows the participation of young women in decision making by age. A critical assumption here is that participation in decision making at home is a measure of a womans autonomy and status, and even though no explicit mention is made of participation in political party decision making, it can be deduced from this that an autonomous woman at home has a very high likelihood of having an effective presence at the political party level. Drawing from this table, it is evident that women make more household decisions as they grow older. 78% believe they should make daily household purchases compared to 62% of the men. 61% of (young) women believe they should make major household purchases compared to 42% of men. 68% of the women believe they should make decisions to visit (their) family and relatives, while only 45% of the men think so.54 From Figure 2 on student participation in decision making, it is emerging that the involvement of students is most effective in terms of planning for development and the maintenance of physical facilities. They also have a voice in determining the subjects that they pursue at school, with 75% for private schools and 88% for public schools. However, for the issues touching on school timetable, examination timetable, and diet, their participation is extremely low as these are issues that have to be guided by the school
53 54
19
administration. However, they have a relative say in the kind of co-curricular activities they would wish to engage in, at 36% for both the private and the public schools. It is also clear from the data that the students in public schools have relatively more autonomy than their counterparts from the private schools in so far as planning for development, maintenance of physical facilities and choice of subject is concerned. Interestingly, students from the private schools have more say in the design of their school timetable and also the restructuring of their examination timetable and even what to eat at school. Figure 2: Student participation in various decision making processes
Percentages
36 36 23 5 Planning for Development facility Choice of subject Maintenance of physical facilities School timetable 21 4 Co-Curricular activities Examinations timetable Diet 19 5
2.4
Prof. Yash Pal Ghai55 writing on the Constitution of Kenya as an instrument of change; identifies areas in which women as a group have gained, and in which they will be represented in elective bodies, appointed bodies and in employment in the public service.56 These include: Special seats are reserved for women in the Senate (16, plus one woman representing youth and one representing persons with disability); Special seats for women in the National Assembly (1 from each County); There shall be law to promote the representation of women in Parliament;
55
Prof. Yash Pal Ghai is one of the leading international Scholars in Constitutional Law. He was the Chairman of the Constitutional of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) that produced the popular Bomas Draft of the Constitution, which was watered down by the then Attorney General, Hon. Amos Wako producing the unpopular Wako Draft which was humiliatingly defeated at the Referendum in 2005. 56 Ghai, Yash Pal (2011) Kenyas Constitution: An Instrument for Change. Nairobi: CLARION. p. 40.
20
Special seats are provided in County Assemblies to ensure that at least one-third of the members are women (and at least one-third are men); There must be a certain number of women in the Parliamentary Service Commission (at least 4 out of the 11 members Article 127 (2)57 this body supports Parliament in various ways, providing administrative and research staff; There must be at least 3 women among the 11 members of the Judicial Service Commission Article 171 (2) this body recommends names of people to be appointed as judges; The Judicial Service Commission must be guided in its work by the principle of gender equality Article 172 (2); The State must implement the principle that not more than two-thirds of the members of elective or appointive bodies shall be of the same gender Article 27 (8); There must be equal opportunities in the public service for the men and women in appointment, training and advancement Article 323 (1); The National Security organs must reflect the diversity of the Kenyan people in equitable proportions Article 238.
The National Policy on Gender Equality and Development in Kenya, expresses the governments commitment to advance the status of women as stated in CEDAW and other international instruments. The overall objective of the policy is to ensure womens empowerment and mainstreaming of their needs and concerns in all sectors of development in the country so that they can participate and benefit equally from development initiatives. The policy also establishes institutions as well as programmes and activities through which the specified government objectives would be met. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Services through the Department of Gender and the National Commission on Gender support gender mainstreaming in all government ministries, advice on the impact of all government policies on women, monitor the situation of women, help formulate policies and implement strategies to eliminate gender-based discrimination.58 In the same Report of on the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Government of the Republic of Kenya reports that through the Gender Division and the Gender Commission as well as other institutions created under the ministry, it has made progress towards advancement of women in various sectors. These include: Lobbying both government agencies and non-governmental organizations for gender mainstreaming and for promotion of womens participation in various activities as well as promotion of equality between men and women in various areas; conducting surveys of various government ministries and departments to determine the situation of womens participation in various sectors as well as well as their current level of participation. It is also important to note that the Political Parties Act, No. 10 of 2007 and its successor, the Political Parties Act, 2011 both had one main agenda in common, namely: seeking to ensure equal participation between men and women in the political life and decision making on political matters concerning the country. Whereas the 2007 document did not make express provisions for gender representation in political office, the 2011 document has made express provisions which are reproduced in this document. However, all the political parties are now in the process of coming up with new Constitutions that are compliant with the new laws and also to re-organise their manifestos to capture this new reality.
57
Kenya, Republic of (2010) The Constitution of Kenya. Nairobi: Government Printer. All the Articles referred to here are drawn from the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. 58 The 7th Periodic Report of the Government of the Republic of Kenya on Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
21
Other institutions where women will be represented are the Youth Leagues and the Womens Leagues which must be structure and institutionalized in party organisation. This must be provide for in the respective party constitutions and manifestos as without this critical representation, the concerned party shall not be deemed to have fully complied with the legal requirements for full registration. It is also important to note that there has been a great improvement in the representation of women especially in the Constitutional Commissions and Committees, including the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC); Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC); the Judicial Service Commission (JSC); the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). There are also others coming up like the Teachers Service Commission (TSC); the National Police Service Commission; the Kenya National Human Rights Commission; the National Gender and Equality Commission; the National Land Commission; the Parliamentary Service Commission; the Public Service Commission and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. In all these, it will be necessary to see the representation of not only women, but young women as well.
22
3 Study Findings
This section shall address the critical issues raised by the objectives of the study and try to align this with the aims of the study. It starts by giving a brief overview of the existence of political parties in Kenya and the nature of their registration, highlighting any purposes that they serve in the lives of the people of Kenya, and the ideals of a political party. This section also highlights the role of the youth in political parties giving briefs about the roles that the young women play. It gives the statistics on the levels of participation of the youth and the young women in particular in terms of membership in political parties, comparing the absolute numbers and the percentage representation in the respective political parties. It also addresses the main challenges that young women face in aspiring for political leadership, thereby giving suggestions on how these challenges can be addressed. Finally, the section concludes by outlining the opportunities that have come with the promulgation of the gender-friendly Constitution of Kenya, and how the young women can capitalise on the window of opportunity through the affirmative action, even as empowerment is stressed as an important tool for making the young women effectively utilise their untapped potentials.
3.1
The Bomas Draft59 developed by the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) came up with the most detailed definition and role of a political party. Captured in Article 86 (1) of the CKRC Draft political parties are Non-State Actors (NSAs) the function of which are the fostering of democratic processes in government and the country and the participation of people in the political process by means which include60: (a) mobilising public opinion on matters of national interest, and fostering national values and outlook; (b) organising people with similar views and interests for political activities; (c) providing channels to bring public opinion to bear on the policies of the Government and hold the Government accountable to legislative bodies and the people; and (d) ensuring that cohesion and discipline in the conduct of public affairs is maintained. Political parties are registered in Kenya under the Political Parties Act, 201161 which was enacted to conform with the provisions of the New Constitution in Kenya. Formerly, the political parties were registered and guided by the Political Parties Act of 2007. It is interesting to note that as at now, all the political parties are provisionally registered as per the provisions of Article 5 on Provisional registration of a political party, which states: 5. (1) An association of persons or organisation applying to be registered as a political party may apply to the Registrar for provisional registration.
This was a people-driven and people-centred process that produced a people-friendly Constitution for the people of Kenya. However, because of power dynamics and the need for maintenance of the status quo by the ruling political elite, this was watered down in two subsequent processes, the Kilifi Draft and ultimately the re-design by the Attorney General, Amos Wako, of what became unpopularly known as the Wako Draft that was subjected to a referendum in 2005 and humiliatingly defeated, taking the people of Kenya back to square one in the fight for a new Constitution. 60 Ghai, 2011 op cit., p. 127. 61 An Act of Parliament enacted by the Parliament of Kenya, to provide for the registration, regulation and funding of political parties and for connected purposes.
59
23
(2) Upon application for registration under subsection (1), the Registrar shall, within thirty days of the association or organisation fulfilling the conditions prescribed in section 6, issue that association or organisation with a certificate of provisional registration. However, all the provisionally registered political parties have not more than one hundred and eighty days from the date of provisional registration, to apply to the Registrar of Political Parties, for full registration. This grace period expires on 30 April 2012 and after this date, all the parties that shall have complied shall have all their memberships details lodged with the Registrar of Political Parties. Data available from the Registrar of Political Parties as shown in Table 4: Top 20 Political Parties by Registration (Registrar), indicate that by the start of March 2012, only 10 political parties out of the 54 provisionally registered political parties62 had achieved the threshold of 23, 500 membership as provided for in Article 7 (2) which requires that a provisionally registered political party shall be qualified to be fully registered if (a) it has recruited as members, not fewer than one thousand registered voters from each of more than half of the counties. However, this data appears not to be disaggregated in terms of gender, age and disability status. This will make it very difficult to monitor compliance with the provisions of Article 7 (2) (b) which requires that the members referred to in paragraph 7 (2) (a) reflect regional and ethnic diversity, gender balance and representation of minorities and marginalised groups. The regional diversity referred to here is that the membership should spread across different counties presently falling under different provinces; gender balance should ensure gender equity so that there is equitable representation and participation of both genders in party activities, this ideally should ensure that there is not more than two-thirds of either gender in all organs of decision-making at the party level. The minorities and the marginalised in this case refers to the ethnic minorities like the Ogiek and other endangered communities, the Maasai who have not been in mainstream political party activities, the youth, women and the disabled. For all the information collected, none has captured the disaggregation in terms of all these parameters. The data from the survey is not any better. The statistics indicate tentative figures mostly based on approximations as the recruitment was at its climax, with the rush to beat the deadline for compliance with the requirements of the Political Parties Act 2011. The figures will therefore be shown as tentative and comprehensive and conclusive data can only be available from the Registrar of Political Parties after the expiry of the grace period for compliance.
62
It is good to note that NARC Kenya, GNU, the New Vision Party and LPK have just submitted applications for full registration in compliance with the PPA 2011. It is anticipated that others will soon rush to beat the deadline at the last minute.
24
Table 4: Political Party representation in Parliament No. of Seats in Name of Political Party Parliament 1 ODM 103 2 PNU 46 3 ODM - Kenya 18 4 KANU 15 5 NARC - Kenya 6 6 Safina 5 FORD - People 7 3 8 NARC 3 9 CCU 2 DP 10 2 11 New FORD - Kenya 2 12 FORD - Kenya 1 Source: Parliament Website.
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Name of Political Party KADDU KADU A KENDA Mazingira PDP PICK PPK Sisi Kwa Sisi UDM Ex-Officio Vacant TOTAL
Source: Registrar of Political Parties, March 2012. There is a very big discrepancy in the information available from the RPP (Table 5) and the figures given by the political parties during the survey (Table 6). The figures from the survey are blown up meaning that the parties have no exact registration figures for their membership although they project it to be so high. It could be seen during the survey that there were so many registration forms that were filling the tables in 25
the party offices and they had not even been entered in the computer databases. In some instances, the parties were entering data from one county and after reaching the required 1, 000 members from that county, they leave the other forms to go to the next county just rushing to beat the legal requirement in half of the counties nationally. It is possible therefore, that the many un-entered forms in the party offices could be accounting for the huge figures. Some were claiming that they usually count the number of returned forms and therefore, the figures that they gave were based on that; while the information at the RPP is actually the figure that has been entered in the database. The shocking reality, however, will be implementation of the clauses requiring that each party submits to the Registrar, the location of its head office, which shall be a registered office within Kenya and a postal address to which notices and other communication may be sent; and also the location and addresses of the branch offices of the political party, which shall be in more than half of the counties. A spot check during the survey paints a grim picture. Almost all political parties surveyed do not have branches in more than 23 Counties. If anything, most of them operate from the National office, which are either in Nairobi and its environs, with a few in Nakuru and Mombasa. Information about the physical locations as provided by the Registrar has changed for a good number of political parties, but they have not communicated the changes to the Registrar. So it was possible to go to the registered office only to find different office utilisation in place other than activities of a political party. The survey also reveled that some parties are brief-case in nature such that, the Party proprietor who in most cases is also the party Chairman, establishes the party office in his business premise. So it was not uncommon to find a party office squeezed in an office which deals with real estate, cyber-caf or computer bureau services. The most shocking revelation was one where the party office was in a boutique and the sales ladies didnt even have the slightest idea that there was supposed to be a political party office there, despite admitting that the owner of the boutique does own a political party. These are going to be the critical hurdles that the Registrar of Political Parties will have to go through to bring sanity to political party operations in the country. Generally, political parties are supposed to be vehicles of national transformation, research, policy formulation and implementation, innovation and welfare improvement. However, there is a strong feeling that they have failed terribly, and have become tools of political power, to achieve personal interests and not public interest. There is ideological rot in the political parties as the individuals talk of things they dont practice, speak of preaching water and drinking wine. Political parties are supposed to provide an avenue for the public to associate with their leaders and learn of their policies and vision for the country. They also represent democracy and freedom of association in Kenya. However, they have also been used to propagate hate based on ethnicity among Kenyans and as a mob attack against certain leaders in the event there is a conflict or difference in ideology. We have seen political alliances formed like an army going to war without any foundations or manifestos but on the pretext of uniting against a common enemy. The recent mushrooming of new political parties after fallout with membership and officials of existing political parties is a clear manifestation of this sad state of affairs. Political parties in Kenya lack any ideology and are mere ethnic conglomerations that are rudderless. In fact, they are mere vehicles to parliament and can be discarded or changed at will. However, we may console ourselves in the hope that may be the Political Parties Act will change this reality when it is fully operationalised.63
63
Interview with Dr. Owuor Olungah, a Gender Expert, Social Science Researcher and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Anthropology, African and Gender Studies (IAAGS) of the University of Nairobi.
26
For a long time since the re-introduction of multiparty politics in Kenya in 1992, political parties have been just about personalities; but with the new constitution, the PPA, the Elections Act and all other relevant legislation, it will never be the same again. The law seeks to create them into serious institutions with serious structures that will be a major determinant of the political landscape now and in the future. The institution of political parties is growing from being one man/woman show to being key pillars in democratic governance in Kenya, as the constitution provides the legal framework under which they operate. They are necessary because ideally, they help promote democracy. However, the reality is that most of them are short-lived and dont have roots. They will play a critical role in the re-definition of democracy in Kenya. They are perceived as a necessary evil, although there is need to streamline them so they cease to be the necessary evil that they are at the moment. Figure 3: Youth SMS Survey on Political Party membership
Are you a registered member of a political party?
UNCERTAIN 8%
YES 31%
NO 61%
YES
NO
UNCERTAIN
In a survey that was conducted by the Youth Agenda in December 2011, they asked the young people whether they belonged to political parties, and if they didnt, to give reasons why they didnt belong to political parties. 90 youths responded to the survey by sending their answers through their mobile phones. The results are reflected in Figure 2 above. Out of this, there was a shocking revelation that 55 out of the 90, accounting for a whooping 61%, did not belong to any political party. This is really shocking given that it is the youth who are expected to be at the forefront in shaping the political environment in this country, and they can only do this through active representation and participation in political party activities. Only 28 out of 90, accounting for 31% polled that they belonged to a political party, while 7 respondents representing 8% of the total, were undecided on whether they belonged to a political party or not.
27
As for the reasons for not belonging to a political party, diverse reasons were advanced by the respondents with some indicating that they were not yet decided on political party membership, while some indicated their intentions to register in the near future. There are some who believed that they should not just be part of the statistics by being counted as a member, yet they were not making any tangible benefits with their membership. A cross-section of the respondents were of the opinion that there is no party good enough to stand the test of time, while some maintained that Kenya still has political, tribal chieftaincy. To some, political parties only use youth as vessels and for cheers, there is shortage of visionary and focused political parties and leaders. Some youth respondents expressed the desire to be registered, but they do not know how and need help. There is a widespread feeling that political parties have those who own them but they use young people for their growth. The youth also expressed their apathy with political party operations and the inability to launch a successful political career without money. It is for this reason that some gave the reason that they are at the moment focusing on how to get money to boost business, before thinking of venturing into politics at a later stage. Some respondents felt that the existing youth outfits are not in touch with the rural youth, while rightly observing that in most cases, the political party youth leagues are only active during elections due to hand outs from the established political elite.
28
No.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Democratic Party KANU Agano Party of Kenya Kenya National Congress National Agenda Party of Kenya Chama Cha Uzalendo United Democratic Forum Party People's Democratic Party The Independent Party Farmers Party People's Party of Kenya Mkenya Solidarity Movement Federal Party of Kenya Ford People Social Democratic Party Safina Party Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya New Democrats PNU Alliance United Republican Party
Female Youth Membership 175,000 150,000 210,000 15,000 22,560 4,500 22,435 2,688 8,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 1,260 2,500 50 619,993
TOTAL
64
The Political Parties captured with dash (-) for membership statistics in this Table do not imply that the parties have no membership. The reality is that they had received very many registration forms from different counties and this information had not been captured in their databases. So rather than give estimations, they opted not to give any figures for membership.
29
3.2
Ford People National Agenda Party of Kenya Party of Independent 18 Candidates of Kenya 19 People's Democratic Party 20 United Republican Party Source: Field Data
Other parties that did not respond to the survey, but which have since been established to be having Youth Leagues include: ODM with their Orange Young Democrats; FORD Kenya with their FORD Kenya Youth League and NARC Kenya with their NARC Kenya Youth League. There is a difficulty separating the Youth League from the Youth Wings and these two have usually been used interchangeably. There are 30
other political parties that do not have Youth Leagues at the moment but which are in the process of establishing them. These include the Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya (PICK) and the recently launched United Republican Party (URP) and the Party of Action (POA).
31
Source: IEBC, March 2012. Table 9: Top 20 Youth party membership absolute numbers
No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Name of the Political Party GRAND NATIONAL UNION THE NATIONAL VISION PARTY NATIONAL PATRIOTIC PARTY NARC-KENYA MAZINGIRA GREENS PARTY OF KENYA FORD - Kenya THE LABOUR PARTY OF KENYA CHAMA CHA MWANANCHI PROGRESSIVE PARTY OF KENYA AGANO PARTY UNITED DEMOCRATIC FORUM PARTY PICK DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KENYA KENYA SOCIAL CONGRESS FEDERAL PARTY OF KENYA PEOPLES PARTY OF KENYA AFORD Kenya CHAMA CHA UZALENDO CONSERVATIVE PARTY SAFINA PARTY Youth (18 - 35 yrs) 19,823 19,557 17598 14,907 12,923 11,779 10,443 9,248 8,981 8,090 7,888 7,561 5,838 4,683 4,255 4,001 3,860 3,794 3,523 3,367 Youth % 46 69 49 33 40 34 34 39 46 43 51 48 33 39 42 37 38 46 44 39 Total 42,775 28,220 35,746 45,484 32,441 35,143 30,493 23,788 19,338 18,741 15,344 15,612 17,657 12,079 10,239 10,875 10,073 8,163 7,975 8,629
32
33
perspectives to the parties. In essence, the Youth Leagues are going to be an avenue to change the way politics is conducted in Kenya. They provide a platform for young people to air their views and grievances as well as advancing the youth agenda in party and national affairs. They are the voice of the larger youth in political parties and are actively involved in the implementation of party policies, especially the ones that directly or indirectly affect the youth membership.
26 - 30 Female
31 35 Male Female Total Youth Voters 1,412,803 857,873 852,124 791,376 783,039 589,448 476,868
Male
Rift Valley 347,521 325,952 235,757 186,482 121,187 195,904 Central 188,788 154,692 139,821 128,558 124,544 121,470 Eastern 185,597 157,647 139,374 113,774 131,153 124,579 Nyanza 191,387 173,495 121,808 87,105 116,806 100,775 Nairobi 177,720 136,525 148,180 107,404 124,802 88,408 Western 140,382 133,419 85,361 64,398 82,973 82,915 Coast 98,656 87,261 78,774 63,640 76,834 71,703 NorthEastern 27,252 29,465 15,603 16,183 17,531 18,321 124,355 Total 1,357,303 1,198,456 964,678 767,544 795,830 804,075 5,887,886 Source: IEBC, March 2012.
350,000
Voters in Numbers
250,000
200,000
185,597 157,647
191,387 173,495
150,000
100,000
87,261
29,465
North-Eastern
Eastern
Central
Rift Valley
Western
Nyanza
Provinces
Male Female
200,000
Voters in Numbers
186,482 148,180
150,000 107,404 100,000 78,774 63,640 50,000 15,603 0 Nairobi Coast North-Eastern
139,374 113,774
139,821
128,558
121,808
85,361 64,398
87,105
16,183
Eastern
Central
Rift Valley
Western
Nyanza
Provinces
Male Female
200,000
195,904
Voters in Numbers
150,000 124,802
131,153 124,579
124,544
116,806 100,775
100,000
88,408
76,834
82,915
71,703
50,000 17,531 0 Nairobi Coast North-Eastern Eastern Central Rift Valley Western Nyanza 18,321
Provinces
Male Female
3.3
It is important to note that out of the 54 provisionally registered political parties,71 all have achieved the not more than two-thirds of one gender registered as its members provision. This is according to information obtained from the Registrar of Political Parties and reflects the statistics as at 3 March 2012. It is interesting to note that the perceived most popular political party according to latest opinion polls72, that is the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), is the party that has the lowest percentage of women, with 69% men against 31% for women. The party with the highest percentage of women membership is the National Patriotic Party which boasts of 66% with a huge difference between it and the next, a difference of about 13 percent to that of the Muungano Development Movement Party of Kenya at 52%. The majority of political parties surveyed revealed that they did not have disaggregated data by age or sex as they were just in the process of recruitment. Indeed it could be visible from the tables that the registration forms were filling the office space, with the Secretaries busy entering the data into the system so as to be able to be capture the statistics effectively in order to comply with provisions of the Political Parties Act, 2011. The parties have a grace period of until 30 April 2012 to comply with the conditions for full registration of the parties.73 In fact it is for this reason that the statistics from the survey are just used as tentative awaiting the full membership information that shall be submitted to the Registrar of Political Parties by the deadline. This shall include comprehensive details about a list of the names, addresses and identification particulars of all its members as required by Article 7(2)(f). Twenty political parties have a female representation of 45% and over, which is quite an impressive performance. Four parties have more than half of their members being women, with three showing a 50:50 representation in membership namely the Farmers Party of Kenya, Kenya African Democratic Union Asili and the Shirikisho Party of Kenya. The average ratio for the top twenty political parties in terms of female ratio stands at 49%, which is way ahead of the threshold of two-thirds for either gender.
71
The Political Parties Act, 2011 Article 5(2) and (3) give the conditions under which a political party can be provisionally registered. 72 Latest Ipsos Synovate Opinion Polls conducted in February 2012. 73 The full terms and conditions for full registration of a political party are provided for in The Political Parties Act, 2011 Article 7 (1) and (2).
36
Source: Registrar of Political Parties, March 2012. Table 12: Top 20 Female Membership Ratios Percentages
No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Party Name NATIONAL PATRIOTIC PARTY MDM PARTY OF KENYA FARMERS PARTY KENYA AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC UNION - ASILI SHIRIKISHO PARTY OF KENYA PROGRESSIVE PARTY OF KENYA WIPER DEMOCRATIC PARTY AGANO PARTY CONSERVATIVE PARTY FEDERAL PARTY OF KENYA KENYA SOCIAL CONGRESS NATIONAL LABOUR PARTY PEOPLES PATRIOTIC PARTY OF KENYA RESTORE AND BUILD KENYA THE LABOUR PARTY OF KENYA NEW DEMOCRATS NURU PARTY PEOPLES PARTY OF KENYA PNU ALLIANCE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KENYA TOTAL Female 23,750 883 1,577 1,102 1,781 9,460 4,727 9,003 3,849 4,947 5,721 827 2,507 12,161 14,387 2,465 826 4,877 883 866 106,599 Total 35,811 1,692 3,171 2,220 3,587 19,400 9,622 18,758 7,981 10,246 12,119 1,760 5,316 25,968 30,522 5,407 1,778 10,878 1,977 1,923 210,136 % Female 66 52 50 50 50 49 49 48 48 48 47 47 47 47 47 46 46 45 45 45 49
No.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
NATIONAL PATRIOTIC PARTY NARC KENYA GRAND NATIONAL UNION THE LABOUR PARTY OF KENYA MAZINGIRA GREENS PARTY OF KENYA THE NATIONAL VISION PARTY RESTORE AND BUILD KENYA FORUM FOR RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY-KENYA PROGRESSIVE PARTY OF KENYA CHAMA CHA MWANANCHI AGANO PARTY NATIONAL AGENDA PARTY OF KENYA DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KENYA UNITY PARTY OF KENYA UNITED DEMOCRATIC FORUM PARTY PARTY OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES OF KENYA KENYA SOCIAL CONGRESS FEDERAL PARTY OF KENYA PEOPLES PARTY OF KENYA WIPER DEMOCRATIC PARTY ALLIANCE FOR THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN KENYA (AFORD-KENYA) CONSERVATIVE PARTY KENYA AFRICAN NATIONAL UNION THE INDEPENDENT PARTY CHAMA CHA UZALENDO SAFINA PARTY PEOPLES PATRIOTIC PARTY OF KENYA NEW DEMOCRATS PARTY OF NATIONAL UNITY KENYA NATIONAL CONGRESS
38
No. 1,808 1,781 1,577 1,540 1,185 1,102 1,078 1,030 891 883 883 866 860 827 826 811 802 795 786 743 734 642 637 626 265,379 35 50 50 34 37 50 36 42 31 52 45 45 38 47 46 41 43 43 41 37 36 38 38 36 42
Party Name
Female
% Female
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54
FORD-PEOPLE SHIRIKISHO PARTY OF KENYA FARMERS PARTY MKENYA SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT SABA SABA ASILI KENYA AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC UNION-ASILI NATIONAL RAINBOW COALITION KENYA NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT MUUNGANO DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT PARTY OF KENYA PNU ALLIANCE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KENYA UNITED DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT NATIONAL LABOUR PARTY NURU PARTY PARTY OF HOPE NATIONAL PARTY OF KENYA PARTY OF DEMOCRATIC UNITY PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEW FORD KENYA KENYA AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT UNION FORD-ASILI VIPA PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE (VIPA) NATIONAL ALLIANCE PARTY OF KENYA TOTAL
Total Party Membership 5,194 3,587 3,171 4,507 3,198 2,220 2,978 2,474 2,899 1,692 1,977 1,923 2,258 1,760 1,778 1,990 1,876 1,832 1,910 2,006 2,032 1,690 1,694 1,763 609,925
39
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Democratic Party Agano Party of Kenya KANU National Agenda Party of Kenya Chama Cha Uzalendo Kenya National Congress United Democratic Forum Party The Independent Party People's Democratic Party Federal Party of Kenya Social Democratic Party People's Party of Kenya Mkenya Solidarity Movement Safina Party Ford People Farmers Party United Republican Party PNU Alliance Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya New Democrats TOTAL
Female Youth Membership 175,000 210,000 150,000 22,560 4,500 15,000 22,435 8,000 2,688 2,000 2,500 2,000 2,000 50 1,260 0 0 0 0 0 619,993
74
It has not been possible to identify the ages of the party official, to be able to know how many of these female officials youth are. The parties do not keep such records. However, it should be possible to capture these with persons registering as party members giving their dates of birth.
40
% Female 66 41 43 47 43 44 47 34 49 39 48 33 44 44 43 37 47 48 45 49
41
Table 16: Top 15 Parties with Women concentration in absolute numbers (Survey) Name of Political Party Democratic Party Agano Party of Kenya KANU National Agenda Party of Kenya Chama Cha Uzalendo Kenya National Congress United Democratic Forum Party The Independent Party People's Democratic Party Federal Party of Kenya Social Democratic Party People's Party of Kenya Mkenya Solidarity Movement Safina Party FORD People TOTAL Source: Field Data. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Female Youth Membership Membership 1,000,000 350,000 200,000 37,600 36,000 36,000 31,160 10,000 7,200 5,000 4,000 4,000 3,000 2,660 1,750 1,728,370 350,000 420,000 400,000 56,400 27,000 60,000 54,720 20,000 13,440 4,000 3,500 6,000 7,500 1,000 4,200 1,427,760 Female Youth Membership 175,000 210,000 150,000 22,560 4,500 15,000 22,435 8,000 2,688 2,000 2,500 2,000 2,000 50 1,260 619,993
42
Source: Field Data ** Party positions in this case include the top party Executive Officers, the Youth Leadership and the Womens Leaders.
3.4
43
Source: Field Data The young women are charged with the responsibility of mobilising fellow young women for political rallies. They have been the link between young women and political parties e.g the Warembo ni YES during the referendum; Warembo na Raila; Warembo na Kibaki etc. Male chauvinism in political parties intimidate young women and hinder their performance, as such, they have not been able to utilize their numerical strength. It is in order to say that the young women are involved in political party activities, although their activity is less compared to that of young men. In the villages, their participation is negligible. However, they can be used to organize meetings and other behind the scenes work. Many tend to shy away from politics, and they are usually overshadowed by the young men. The negative perceptions of political parties scare away the young women. However, there is plenty that the political parties can offer the young women, to tap on their potentials.
44
Table 19: Gender Representation in the Local Authorities Province Male Female Total Male % Rift Valley 691 27 718 96.2 Eastern 370 22 392 94.4 Nyanza 357 28 385 92.7 Central 249 10 259 96.1 Western 243 13 256 94.9 Coast 209 8 217 96.3 North Eastern 145 0 145 100.0 Nairobi 58 4 62 93.5 Total 2322 112 2434 95.4 75 Source: Ngau & Mbathi (2010)
Female % 3.8 5.6 7.3 3.9 5.1 3.7 0.0 6.5 4.6
From the Elections of 2007, the Local Authority representation for the women has not been that impressive. From a total of 2, 434 elected Councilors, only a paltry 112 are women accounting for only 4.6% of the total. This figure is a far cry from the constitutional threshold, and shows that we still have a long way to go if we are to successfully implement the constitutional provision on gender equity. The province with the highest number of female Councilors is Nyanza, but the 7.3% is still very discouraging for the women. Because of religion and cultural issues that disadvantage the women, a province like North Eastern has completely no woman elected Councilors, and it shows the kind of work we must be prepared for to change the mindset of such communities in to electing women leaders.
Ngau, Peter & Mbathi, Musyimi (2010) The Geography of Voting in Kenya: An analysis of the 2007 Presidential, Parliamentary and Civic Voting Patterns. In Karuti Kanyinga & Duncan Okello (eds) Tensions and Reversals in Democratic Transitions: The Kenya 2007 General Elections. Nairobi: SID/IDS. p. 165.
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The young women can be included in the membership of committees, and also by being actively involved in other party activities where their presence is felt. Age should not be an issue, everything that all the other party members can do, the young women should also be able to do, e.g chairing committees etc. There is the need to look at merit and capability; however, the young women must make themselves relevant to the party for their presence to be felt. The young women have been included in various party committees e.g for policy and strategy; media and public relations; resource mobilisation and elections management, to name but a few. The young women need to command authority at the party level and to carry forward the party agenda.
3.5
It has been observed that the structures of political parties, electoral systems and legislative assemblies often create systemic barriers to womens full and equal participation in government. Political parties in many countries act as gatekeepers that decide which candidates are in and which are out. It is first and foremost critical to diagnose the key bottlenecks that women face and the hurdles that they have to jump over. Women who seek political office face various obstacles. Young women also face the challenge of inadequate resources to run their campaign. Insensitive campaign financing laws, therefore, present problems for women, who are unable to raise the huge sums required to compete. If this situation prevails, women will continue to be marginalised until the laws are changed to control spending and provide public financing for all competitors.76 This section therefore, addresses the key challenges as they were identified during the survey and in interviewing the key informants and the other stakeholders.
76
CREAW (2006) Running for Political Office: A Handbook for Women Candidates. Nairobi: CREAW/AMWIK/HBS. p. 8.
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but rather sustained and even enhanced. This would mean in future that instead of women going for the bare minimum of one-third, it should be the other way round, so that it is the men who feel endangered.
77
49
Interview with Mitchelle Ayoro Osok, the Chaiperson of the Women Students Welfare Association (WOSWA) of the University of Nairobi.
78
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They also need to use the platform availed to them, to bring out issues they feel are affecting women and particularly young women, and go a step further to solve these problems. However, it is important to note that these issues should be logical, realistic and well thought out and should be for the benefit of both the present and future women and should not be emotive or driven by personal vendetta or the desire to seek revenge for the male imposed injustices. Lobbying becomes an extremely important tool for the young women if their presence must be felt. They need to take up all the chances to push for the implementation of the Constitution. They should work hand-in-hand with political parties and the CSOs, particularly those that are pushing the female agenda. The young women must come out and offer themselves for elections, let them not wait for the nominee positions only. The young women should show interest in political party positions by not only running for elective positions, but also supporting the women who vie for positions. By running or rallying behind other young women running for elective office, it will not only be a morale booster, but it will also make them realise that they can actually make use of their numbers to bring change, both in party politics and at the county or national levels. However, this can be enhanced through an aggressive civic education programme for the women and creating awareness on positions available for the women, both at the county and the national levels, and also whether they are elective, for nomination or appointive. Women should position themselves strategically in political parties and not be told to wait for party nominations in fulfillment of the not more than two-thirds gender rule. Women should go to the political parties to work and showcase their capabilities. It should be made as a rule that a woman is only nominated once, thereafter, she should fight her way through in the elections. A good example is that of the youthful female legislator Hon. Cecile Mbarire who was nominated for the first time in Parliament in 2003 and after utilizing the first term to establish herself, had to fight her way back successfully in the election as the MP for Runyenjes in 2007. The young women need to have an agenda and then aspire to fulfill this agenda. An example is given of another youthful legislator, Hon. Njoki Ndungu, who only served for one term as a nominated MP and was instrumental in initiating and ensuring the ultimate enactment of the Sexual Offences Act. After the first term, she saw herself being of greater benefit to the society through other callings and was in the Committee of Experts that midwived the current Constitution of Kenya, and ultimately rising to the position of a Judge in the Supreme Court of Kenya. All in all, the young women can only effectively capitalize on this affirmative action if they are members of political parties. As part of compliance, the political parties need the young women more as funding will be based on the presence of women and gender balance. The young women can therefore, capitalize on this window of opportunity to make themselves relevant and have their presence felt in their respective political parties, and later on scale it up to the national, international and even global levels of influence. As can be seen in Table 20, the participation of women in Parliament is quiet impressive. Out of the 16 elected female legislators, 6 are full Cabinet Ministers and 5 are Assistant Ministers. What is shocking is that there is not a single woman legislator who chairs a Parliamentary Committee. They are either Vice Chairpersons or just mere members of the Committees. They can do better by demanding even more responsibilities in Parliament. However, it is worth noting that is not a single young woman presently in Parliament.
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3.8
Empowerment in our context is understood as developing girls individual and collective agency, through working with girls and other actors, including boys, to raise critical consciousness of girls rights and social justice; increase the extent to which girls regard themselves as central players to ensure the realization of these rights so as to increase life choices through building support, solidarity and networks within a collaborative action space.79
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youthfulness, energy and innovativeness that is evident from the youth organisations, while also embracing the maturity, experience and wisdom of the older generation evident from the womens organisations. A complete revolution based on age may prove counter-productive, so there is need for a gradual transition. Ultimately, the youth must have a dream and must keep the dream alive at all costs. In order for democracy to remain alive and endure, the youth must take ownership of the system, by becoming informed participants.
Interview with Dr. Owuor Olungah, a Gender Expert, Social Science Researcher and Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Anthropology, African and Gender Studies (IAAGS) of the University of Nairobi.
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have to accept women on board. There is need for a comprehensive civic education to the old-heads in political parties for any meaningful engagement to yield fruits; and there is need for integration of the old and the new, and assisting the old to rethink their political and social philosophies.81 Finally, men should introduce the young women to relevant networks and groups and also help them in mobilisation. By supporting the education of the girl-child, they will be in a way, ensuring the future economic empowerment of the young women, which will translate in political empowerment as politics require heavy investment, as it costs money to campaign. The men can also invest in politics for the sake of the young women, and then encourage them to participate in active politics.
81
Interview with Prof. Winnie V. Mitullah, an Associate Research Professor at the Institute for Development Studies of the University of Nairobi, a Gender and Governance Expert and an internationally recognised urban policy analyst.
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Table 20: Women MPs in the Tenth Parliament and their Responsibilities
Party / Constituency CCU Kathiani KANU Taveta KENDA Marakwet East NARC Kitui Central ODM Aldai ODM Eldoret East ODM Eldoret South ODM Kasarani ODM Sotik ODM Starehe PNU Dagoretti NARC Kenya Gichugu PNU Nyeri Town PNU Runyenjes UDM Mogotio Nominated Nominated Nominated Nominated Nominated ODM Bomet Nominated Responsibility Assistant Minister, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister of Gender and Childrens Affairs Assistant Minister, Min. of Cooperative Development; Chairperson, KEWOPA Minister of Water Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Vice Chairperson, Budget Committee Vice Secretary, KEWOPA Assistant Minister, Nairobi Metropolitan Development Vice Chairperson, Committee on Implementation Assistant Minister, Housing
Member 1 Wavinya Ndeti 2 Dr. Shaban, Naomi Namsi 3 Kilimo, Linah Jebi
4 Ngilu, Charity Kaluki 5 Dr. Sally Jemngetich Kosgei 6 Prof. Margaret Jepkoech Kamar 7 Peris Chepchumba 8 Elizabeth Ongoro
9 Dr. Joyce Cherono Laboso 10 Dr. Margaret Wanjiru Kariuki 11 Beth Wambui Mugo 12 Karua, Martha Wangari
13 14 15 16 17
Esther Murugi Mathenge Cecily Mutitu Mbarire Prof. Hellen Jepkemoi Sambili Rachael Shebesh Sophia Abdi Noor
Minister of Public Health Member, Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee; Member, Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Minister of State for Special Programmes Assistant Minister, Tourism; Secretary, KEWOPA Minister Youth Affairs and Sports Assistant Treasurer, KEWOPA Deputy Chairperson, KEWOPA Treasurer, KEWOPA; Vice Chair, Catering Committee Vice Chairperson, Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Vice Chairperson, Committee on Delegated Legislations
18 Shakilah Abdallah 19 Millie Odhiambo 20 Abdalla Amina Ali 21 Beatrice Cherono Kones
22 Maison Leshomo
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4 Conclusions
These conclusions draw from the study findings and from the literature review including information from the Key Informants. They give a clear picture of any gaps that have been identified and areas that need urgent action. They also set the pace for the political parties as they should be able to locate themselves in terms of membership registration and giving due consideration to the importance attached to gender balance in party representation and membership. It is divided into two sections summarising the dual mandate of the study in finding the representation in political parties in terms of numbers and also the participation of the young women in terms of their roles.
4.1
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From the survey, the registration of female members is impressive, but still a lot needs to be done. Just like in the RPP data, eight political parties have registration of female of over 10, 000 with the Democratic Party leading with 1, 000, 000 female members. Only three parties have over 100, 000 female members registration namely: Democratic Party, Agano Party and KANU. It is these same parties that have a female youth membership registration of over 100, 000. Still, a lot needs to be done with the other political parties that are lagging behind.
4.2
57
5 Recommendations
As youth participation is important for all young people, it is important to map the different groups of young people that can be discerned objectively in the country. It is important to find out their physical locations and objectives so that a working relationship can be carved out. Youth participation needs to be firmly established as a policy principle. This will make it possible to see participation as a permanent process that begins when the views of all people, groups and institutions involved are known. There is need for continuous capacity building and leadership training for the youth so that there is a successive and gradual taking over of leadership by the youth. Finally, there is need to integrate the youth theories, policy and practice, so that addressing the issues affecting the youth is not limited to the academic practice of theorisation, but goes a step further to ensure that these theories are made to impact into policy and legislation, and ultimately that the policies are effectively implemented in practice.
5.1
Political Parties
5.2
5.3
Womens Movement
5.4
5.5
Young Women
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References
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Kenya, Republic of (2010a) Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2008 2009. Nairobi: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya, Republic of (2010b) The Constitution of Kenya. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of. (2011) The Political Parties Act. Nairobi: Government Printer. Mitullah, Winnie V & Owiti, Lillian A (2007) Women and the Politics of Transition In Peter Wanyande, Mary Omosa & Chweya Ludeki (Eds) Governance and Transition Politics in Kenya. Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press. pp. 155 178. Mwangola, Mshai (2011) Youth and Politics: Generational Missions In Katindi Sivi-Njonjo, Angela Kitonga & Awuor Ponge (eds), Youth Research Compendium. Nairobi: IEA. pp. 225 246. NDI (2007) Kenya: Political Party Handbook Strengthening Party Management. Nairobi: NDI. NDI (2011) Leadership and Campaign Academy: Candidates Manual. Nairobi: NDI/USAID. Oduol, Jacqueline A (2011) Women in Leadership and Governance In Okoth Okombo, Joseph Kwaka, Barrack Muluka & Betty Sungura-Nyabuto (Eds) Challenging the Rulers: A Leadership Model for Good Governance. Nairobi: EAEP and Community Aid International. pp. 160 180. Omondi, George (2010) The Student Movement and Youth Organisations in Kenyas Political Development: A Recent History In Okoth Okombo (ed) Civil Society and Governance in Kenya since 2002: Between Transition and Crisis. Nairobi: ARRF and Heinrich Bll Stiftung. pp. 113 134. Parkes, Jenny & Heslop, Jo (2011). Stop Violence Against Girls in School: A cross-country analysis of baseline research from Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique. London: IoE and ActionAid International. Powley, Elizabeth (2003) Rwanda: Women Hold Up Half the Parliament. Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. Sivi-Njonjo, Katindi (2010) Youth Fact Book: Infinite Possibility or Definite Disaster? Nairobi: IEA. Stromquist, Nelly P. (1995) Romancing the State: Gender and Power in Education, Comparative Education Review, 39(4): 423 454. The Youth Agenda (2011) Towards National Cohesion and Integration: Youth Cohesion in High Schools through Clubs. Nairobi: The Youth Agenda. Tinker, I. (2004). Quotas for Women in Elected Legislatures: Do They Really Empower Women? 27 Womens Studies International Forum, pp.531-546. Tsikata, Dzodzi (2001) National Machineries for the Advancement of Women in Africa: Are they Transforming Gender Relations? Ghana: Third World Network-Africa. UNDP/GOK (2010) Kenya National Human Development Report 2009. Youth and Human Development: Tapping the Untapped Resources. Nairobi: UNDP. 64
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5.
6. 7.
8.
9.
Any other information relevant to this study that we may have not captured?
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10. How would the young women capitalize on the constitutional provision of equitable gender representation? 11. How can the Civil Society Organisations empower young women to reap the benefits of the new Constitution? 12. Is there any role that men can perform to empower young women and enhance their participation in political party activities?
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Democratic Party KANU Agano Party of Kenya Kenya National Congress National Agenda Party of Kenya Chama Cha Uzalendo United Democratic Forum Party People's Democratic Party The Independent Party Farmers Party People's Party of Kenya Mkenya Solidarity Movement Federal Party of Kenya Ford - People Social Democratic Party Safina Party New Democrats Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya PNU Alliance United Republican Party Nuru Party Hifadhi Party of Kenya Ford Kenya New Ford Kenya Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Orange Democratic Movement - Kenya (ODM - K) National Alliance Party of Kenya Ford - Asili NARC - Kenya National Visions Party
The parties in BOLD from number 1 20 are the only ones that provided information. The ones highlighted yellow (from 21 35) had either relocated office, given wrong physical office space, officials inaccessible or simply refused to give information.
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Name of Political Party Relocated Office Officials inaccessible Officials inaccessible Office cannot be located Officials inaccessible
Year Founded
Year Registered
Total Membership
Male Membership
Female Membership
Youth Membership
31 32 33 34 35
Grand National Union Labour Party of Kenya Party of National Unity (PNU) Muungano Development Movement Party of Kenya Progressive Party of Kenya
The parties in BOLD from number 1 20 are the only ones that provided information. The ones highlighted yellow (from 21 35) had either relocated office, given wrong physical office space, officials inaccessible or simply refused to give information.
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No.
Youth %
Elders %
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
GRAND NATIONAL UNION THE NATIONAL VISION PARTY NATIONAL PATRIOTIC PARTY NARC-KENYA MAZINGIRA GREENS PARTY OF KENYA FORUM FOR RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY-KENYA THE LABOUR PARTY OF KENYA CHAMA CHA MWANANCHI PROGRESSIVE PARTY OF KENYA AGANO PARTY UNITED DEMOCRATIC FORUM PARTY PARTY OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES OF KENYA DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KENYA KENYA SOCIAL CONGRESS FEDERAL PARTY OF KENYA PEOPLES PARTY OF KENYA ALLIANCE FOR THE RESTORATION OF DEMOCRACY IN KENYA-(AFORD-KENYA)
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
CHAMA CHA UZALENDO CONSERVATIVE PARTY SAFINA PARTY WIPER DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEW DEMOCRATS KENYA NATIONAL CONGRESS MKENYA SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT KENYA AFRICAN NATIONAL UNION PARTY OF NATIONAL UNITY PEOPLES PATRIOTIC PARTY OF KENYA FORD-PEOPLE RESTORE AND BUILD KENYA SHIRIKISHO PARTY OF KENYA
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No.
1,256 1,169 1,165 1,147 1,116 1,115 989 924 875 866 800 795 677 675 660 655 653 635 608 595 574 568 560 555 221,615 1,312 2,301 1,456 1,120 1,199 1,206 387,559 32 21 28 34 32 32 36 68 79 72 66 68 68 1,920 2,896 2,030 1,688 1,759 1,761 609,174 1,721 24,858 10,151 14,236 791 2,052 1,484 2,274 1,110 1,348 1,457 1,182 1,099 1,197 1,338 1,177 1,036 1,055 42 4 10 7 59 35 40 29 44 39 35 40 38 36 33 36 39 38 58 96 90 93 41 65 60 71 56 61 65 60 62 64 67 64 61 62 2,977 26,027 11,316 15,383 1,907 3,167 2,473 3,198 1,985 2,214 2,257 1,977 1,776 1,872 1,998 1,832 1,689 1,690
Youth %
Elders %
Total
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48
NATIONAL RAINBOW COALITION NATIONAL AGENDA PARTY OF KENYA THE INDEPENDENT PARTY UNITY PARTY OF KENYA PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY FARMERS PARTY KENYA NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE SABA SABA ASILI PARTY OF HOPE KENYA AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC UNION-ASILI UNITED DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT PNU ALLIANCE NURU PARTY NATIONAL PARTY OF KENYA NEW FORD KENYA PARTY OF DEMOCRATIC UNITY VIPA PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE (VIPA) MUUNGANO DEVELOPMENT MOVEMENT PARTY OF KENYA
49 50 51
52 53 54
SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF KENYA ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT KENYA AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT UNION FORD-ASILI NATIONAL LABOUR PARTY NATIONAL ALLIANCE PARTY OF KENYA TOTAL
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71