Members of Parliament have been challenged to pass the Gender Bill on Thursday as an honour to former First Lady Lucy Kibaki who will be buried on Saturday at her Othaya home.
Mrs Kibaki, who reorganised the office of the First Lady when Mwai Kibaki was elected as President in 2002 died in a London hospital a fortnight ago.
Speaking to the reporter on Wednesday, Nyamira Women Representative Alice Chae said Kenyan Women will be honored if the bill seeking substantive representation of women is passed when the country is mourning Mrs. Kibaki’s death.
“I want to challenge MPs to turn up on Thursday in numbers and pass the Gender Bill for the sake of honouring Mrs. Kibaki. She is one of the people who made significant contribution in fighting for women space in this country,” she said.
“As women, we feel great to have the Bill in front of the house because we want to show the world that time has come to give women chance to lead in all aspects and that must start in parliament. Since it coincides with the time we are morning a great person, let all MPs stand in solidarity with Kenyan women,” she said.
She challenged both political leadership in the house to shun political competition and support the bill for the common good of Kenyan women.
“The Bill is about empowering women into leadership positions and it’s not about political competitions. Let’s all support it in honour of Mrs. Kibaki, a lady known for her significant contribution to Kenyan Women,’ she said.
Last week, the Gender Bill was unanimously supported but it failed to gunner the basic requisite of two-thirds support.