Just hours before Parliament convenes for the Second Reading of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2018; Kiambu-based politician Gladys Chania has opposed the passing of the Bill.
Chania notes that the Bill sponsored by the Leader of Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale advocating for the two-thirds gender rule is purely "serving political interests and not women interests at all."
The Bill has so far received support from President Uhuru Kenyatta, DP William Ruto and opposition leader Raila Odinga.
However, she explains that the Bill does not in any way address issues hindering women from thrusting themselves into elective leadership.
"Women battling it out in elective politics are held back by political stereotypes. The Duale Bill is not complete because it has not addressed the key issues that affect women leadership," she said when contacted on Tuesday.
Chania who vied for Kiambu Women Representative in the 2017 general elections and a former coordinator for the defunct TNA party in Kiambu added that the passing of the Bill will not change much in the field of women politics.
"The key things that we should measure from the nominated positions for women in our county assemblies, Parliament and the Senate are service delivery and performance and not the wage bill but I haven't seen much happening.
"Personally, I am of the opinion that every woman leader should battle it out there fair and square," she offers adding, "even if I got the nomination, I would turn it down."
Further, she cites that political parties which are tasked with the nominations lack democracy.
Some of her followers on Facebook weighed in on the matter, the majority supporting the flopping of the Bill.
Jackson Kamau said: "The Bill must fail, we need to empower women to vote wisely and not increase our national wage bill, by nominating girlfriends, and wives. In future, the sixth ballot for County woman representative should be given to women. All men should have five ballot papers and women six."
Muriuki Harry Partridge noted: " Hope our MPs will do one noble thing and discard this useless bill. This is an avenue for our immoral leaders to nominate their mipangos and concubines who most of them will not have a single idea of what they are supposed to do."
Simon Mwangi observed: "This is unacceptable move. We should be thinking of reducing the number of elected n nominated leaders, not addition. I vote No. What has current women reps done most are political flower gals with no agenda. A Kenyan woman needs Economic empowerment, not over representation."
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