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ABSTRACT
Kenya’s 2010 constitutional reforms devolved the political system and included a quota designed to secure a minimum threshold of women in government. While the 2017 elections yielded the country’s highest proportion of women in government in history via both elected and appointed positions, many political entities still fell short of the new gender rule, leaving them in noncompliance with the constitution. The 2017 elections reveal a tension: while devolution raised the stakes of local elections and the quota has improved women’s political inclusion, these reforms have not fundamentally changed the power of political parties, the way campaigns are financed, cultural ideas about women’s leadership, and the pervasiveness of violence in Kenyan elections. Drawing on data from both the national and county levels, this article maps these persistent obstacles to women’s political inclusion and argues that increasing women’s political power will require both the full implementation of the constitution, as well as a broader consideration of how power operates and is consolidated.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Lanoi Maloiy, Margaret Monyani, Kennedy Mwangi, and Mabel Rubadiri for their research assistance, and the Rift Valley Institute for their administrative support. The findings and reflections in this contribution draw on research made possible through the support of the United Kingdom Department for International Development’s East Africa Research Fund. The authors are grateful to the reviewers and editors for their valued comments and feedback on this contribution.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 IPU, “Parline Database.”
2 Kamuru, “Our Unlawful Lawmakers Parliament,” 8.
3 IPU, “Parline Database”; EIU “Democracy Index.”
4 Bouka and Sigsworth, “Women in the military in Africa,” 2.
5 Interview NY1, 22 October 2016, Nyandarua.
6 IPU, “Parline Database 2018”.
7 Donno and Kreft, “Authoritarian Institutions,” 2.
8 UN Beijing Platform of Action, UN Women, http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/about
9 Bolzendahl, “Making the Implicit Explicit,” 44.
10 Hudson et al., “Sex and World Peace,” 124; Caprioli, “Gender Equality and State Aggression,” 209.
11 Matland, “Women’s Representation,” 109; Kenworthy and Malami “Gender Inequality,” 237; Reynolds “Women in the Legislatures,” 572.
12 Paxton and Kunovich, “Women’s Political Representation,” 103.
13 Dahlerup and Freidenvall, “‘Quotas as a ‘Fast Track,’” 41; Hughes et al., “Civil War and Trajectories of Change,” 1518.
14 Wängnerud “Women in Parliaments,” 60.
15 Tremblay and Bauer, Women in Executive Power, 173.
16 Tripp, Women and Power in Post-Conflict Africa.
17 Berry, War, Women, and Power, 210.
18 Viterna and Fallon, “Democratization, women’s movements,” 685.
19 Goetz and Hassim, No Shortcuts to Power, 48–50.
20 Donno and Kreft, “Authoritarian Institutions,” 25.
21 IPU, Sexism, 4.
22 Krook, “Violence Against Women in Politics,” 84.
23 Musila, “Phallocracies”.
24 Kabira, Time for Harvest, 169; Carrier and Nyamweru, “Reinventing Africa’s National Heroes,” 601.
25 Kamau, Women and Political Leadership in Kenya, 18.
26 Kabira, Time for Harvest, 14; Kamau, Women and Political Leadership in Kenya, 17.
27 For a summary of the history of women in political leadership in Kenya, see Kabira and Kimani, “Women’s Leadership in Kenya.”
28 Nzomo, “Women in Politics,” 10.
29 Kabira and Kimani, “Women’s Leadership in Kenya,” 843.
30 Crook and Manor, Democracy and Decentralization, 4.
31 Cheeseman et al., “Kenya’s 2017 Elections”.
32 Cheeseman et al., “Democracy and its Discontents,” 13.
33 NDI and FIDA, A Gender Analysis, 31.
34 Funding from DFID’s East Africa Research Fund.
35 Cornell and D’Arcy, “Plus Ça Change?” 174.
36 Interview KF1, 25 October 2016, Kilifi.
37 FIDA, Key Gains and Challenge, 58.
38 Jonyo, Assessing the Role of Political Parties, 12–13.
39 Interview NY15, 1 November 2016, Nyandarua.
40 Interview KS7, 31 October 2016, Kisumu.
41 Carter Center, Observing, 22.
42 See FIDA Key Gains and Challenges, 3.
43 Interview NY27, 21 November 2016, Nyandarua.
44 CMD-Kenya, Report on the Tracking, 5.
45 NDI and FIDA, A Gender Analysis, 27.
46 Interview NY1, 22 October 2016, Nyandarua.
47 Yoon, “Special Seats for Women,” 75.
48 NDI and FIDA, A Gender Analysis, 21.
49 These victories were not unproblematic, however. Martha Karua, Waiguru’s opponent, alleged illegalities and irregularities.
50 NDI and FIDA, A Gender Analysis, 28.
51 Kayuni and Muriaas, “Alternatives to Gender Quotas.”
52 Interview KE1, 26 October 2016, Nairobi.
53 Nugent, “Banknotes,” 254; Gadjanova, “Electoral clientelism,” 600.
54 Validation meeting, May 2017.
55 Interview KE12, 16 November 2016, Nairobi.
56 World Economic Forum report 2013: 51.
57 NYFG6, Focus Group, 24 October 2017, Nyandarua.
58 Interview KS5, 27 October 2016, Kisumu.
59 Ohman and Lintari, Political Party Financing, 20; Goetz and Hassim, No Shortcuts to Power, 56.
60 KFFG6, Focus Group 6, October 2016, Kilifi.
61 NYFG4; NYFG6: Focus Groups 4 and 6, October 2016, Nyandarua.
62 NYFG5 and NYFG6: Focus Groups 5 and 6, October 2016, Nyandarua; Kivoi, “Factors Impeding Political Participation,” 179.
63 Interview KE13, 17 November 2016, Nairobi.
64 NYFG4.
65 Mueller, “Dying to Win,” 103.
66 Nyabola, “A Seat at the Table,” 12.
67 See our previous work on this topic: Marie E. Berry, Yolande Bouka, and Muthoni Kamuru. “Kenyan Women Just Fought One of the Most Violent Campaigns in History”, Foreign Policy, 7 August 2017.
68 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, “Intimate Partner,” 307.
69 Krook and Sanín, “Violence,” 476.
70 Okech, “Then They Came for Us,” 7.
71 Interview KS12, 3 November 2016, Kisumu.
72 Interview NY2, 30 October 2016, Nyandarua.
73 Interview NY12, 27 October 2016, Nyandarua.
74 Krook and Sanín, “Violence,” 482.
75 There are countless newspaper reports on this topic. See, for example: Simon Curl. “Kenyan Politicians Sex Scandals.” Tuko, 2017. https://www.tuko.co.ke/202656-5-prominent-kenyan-politicians-hit-by-relationship-scandals.html#202656; and Willis Okech, “Mombasa Court Stunned by Love Claims about Senator Emma Mbura”, Standard Digital, 21 March 2016. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000195668/mombasa-court-stunned-by-love-claims-about-senator-emma-mbura
76 Interview KS9, 31 October 2016, Kisumu.
77 Interview KF15, 28 October 2016.
78 Interview KS15, 2 November 2016, Kisumu.
79 Interview KS8, 31 October 2016, Kisumu.
80 Interview KS5, 27 October 2016, Kisumu.
81 Validation meeting, May 2017, Nairobi.
82 Centre for Rights Education and Awareness & 2 others v Speaker the National Assembly & 6 others [2017] eKLR at http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/133439/ [accessed on 24 March 2018]
83 Donno and Kreft, “Authoritarian Institutions,” 19.
84 Interview KE11, 15 November 2016, Nairobi.
85 Interview KE7, 10 November 2016, Nairobi.
86 The number of male candidates also increased in 2017, but by only 13% across all positions compared to 2013.
