The Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA) has expressed support for a bill that will allow more women nominated in the Senate and National Assembly.
Fida chairperson Josephine Mong’are urged the National Assembly to reintroduce and pass the Bill by National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale.
Mong’are said the Duale Bill is more acceptable as it had 195 votes when it went to Parliament adding that it seeks to balance the composition of elective posts to ensure equality considering gender by not allowing one gender to hold more than two-thirds of the elective positions in government.
“I hope the President meant what he said the other day because all we need is political goodwill. We want to believe that he was being genuine and that Parliament will do its duty because Jubilee has majority members in Parliament,” he said.
“A Bill can only be reintroduced after a period of six months and that to us is the only Bill that has matured,” Ms Mong’are added.
The chairperson however said that the Chepkonga Bill which has been strongly opposed by FIDA and other women’s groups should not be considered because it proposes progressive implementation of the gender rule without a timeline.
“Women are equal citizens of this country and we should not be treated as leftovers. We should get the same treatment on the table. It should not be considered expensive because women are asking for what’s rightfully theirs,” she said.