As Kenya heads towards the August 8, general election, it will be interesting to see whether the East African country will emulate other African states by having key coalitions line-up women for top political posts.
Busia Women representative Florence Mutua on Friday said women should not only be pushed to contest for peripheral political positions but should be supported to vie for the country's top seat.
"Women have the ability, capability and the zeal to take top leaderships positions in the country. Besides, they are trusted with resources compared to their male counterparts," she said in Busia.
"They have been tried in many countries in the world including Chile, South Korea, Malta, Croatia, Estonia, Nepal, Marshall Islands, Taiwana, Germany and Brazil with positive results."
Mutua said Africa is proud to have two female presidents- Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, 57, of Mauritius.
"Women have the numbers that could tilt the political equation in the country but they like waiting at the wings," she added.
"Lack of unity among them is another contributing factor that has relegated them to the periphery. Those who tried to compete for top positions have backtracked. Martha Karua and Charity Ngilu had vied for the presidency in previous elections but have now relegated themselves to Governor positions."