Women have celebrated International Women’s Day across the globe.
In Kenya, some women leaders on Friday engaged in various activities to mark the day.
The International Women’s Day has over the years been marked to appreciate the role played by women in economic, political and social spheres of life.
There are countless Kenyan women who have made and left a mark in the country’s rich history.
These women continue to lay a foundation through which the current crop of women leaders is building on.
Here are two Ukambani women who have made a mark in the country’s books of history:
1. Charity Ngilu
The Kitui governor is famously known as 'Mama Ngilu' or 'Mama Rainbow'.
In 1997, Ngilu went into the country’s history books when she became the first woman to contest the presidential election.
The fearless Ngilu battled it out with the likes of retired President Daniel Arap Moi.
Though she emerged fourth in the 1997 presidential political contest, Ngilu left an important political mark for women.
Ngilu joined active politics in 1992 when she was elected to parliament.
She served as Ministers for Health, Water and Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Urban Planning in the previous governments.
2. Nyiva Mwendwa
She is the former Kitui Woman Representative and among the most experienced female Kamba politicians.
Mwendwa is the widow of Kenya’s first black Chief Justice Kitili Maluki Mwendwa.
She became the first woman to be appointed to the Cabinet in 1995 during retired President Daniel Arap Moi’s regime.
Mwendwa’s influence in Ukambani politics is still being felt despite her retirement.
She is among veteran politicians likely to shape the Ukambani region's political direction in the 2022 succession politics.
Ngilu and Nyiva Mwendwa are indeed among many women who we salute as the world marks the International Women’s Day.
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