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Activists in Kenya are calling for a constitutional amendment that will guarantee women's quota representation in parliament in the event female candidates fail to win elective posts in the upcoming general elections.

Parliamentarian Kiema Kilonzo introduced the amendment for debate, calling for women to be nominated directly to posts as a backup if they fail to get elected. A final vote is expected in mid-November when legislators return from a one-month recess.

The nominations will help uphold the two-thirds gender rule and avert a possible crisis in the formation of the next parliament and senate, according to the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA) and the National Gender and Equality Commission.

Kenya's 2010 constitution requires that no more than two-thirds of parliament should be from one single gender, effective with the upcoming March 2013 general elections.

After the election, the new parliament will not be able to convene unless the gender requirement is respected, according to Kenya's Attorney General Githu Muigai. "Failure to address the issue will see the country experience a constitutional crisis of unparalleled proportions and hence the need to address the rule now," Muigai was quoted as saying by The Standard newspaper on October 2nd.

However, this provision, which was meant to streamline gender equality in Kenya, is now facing resistance from some members of parliament who argue it is too challenging to meet and that the additional nominations proposed as a backup would lead to a bloated parliament that would be costly and unsustainable to the economy.

"The current political field does not support women to campaign freely and sell their agenda to voters," said FIDA executive director Grace Maingi-Kimani, adding that "women in Kenya today cannot [fairly] compete alongside their male counterparts".

For that reason, Maingi-Kimani said the law should not be scrapped but amended to include a contingency plan. "We want the law amended to give nominations to women if the gender balance is not achieved after the elections," she told Sabahi.

"Those calling for scrapping the two-thirds gender rule are those hell-bent on clinging on the status quo of keeping women at the periphery of leadership," said National Gender and Equality Commission chair Winnie Lichuma. "They fail to understand that sidelining a section of the population from key decision-making is one way of isolating that section from wealth creation, which is counter-productive to development."

Reversing the course

According to Germany's Heinrich Böll Foundation, Kenya trails behind its East African neighbours in women's participation in politics with just 9.8%, compared to Rwanda's 56.3%, Tanzania's 36%, Uganda's 35% and Ethiopia's 27.8%.

Lichuma said that affirmative action is the only way to see change. "Countries that have achieved gender parity did it through affirmative quota systems. This helps introduce women to leadership and it should be done as a right and not as a privilege."

According to a 2009 survey by Kenya's Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, women remain marginalised with only 30% representation in public service positions, 72% of which are low ranking positions. The same inequity is rife in the leadership of political parties and in political representation: women represent only 10% of the current parliament, way below the global average of 18.8%.

Zebib Kavuma, country programme manager in Kenya for United Nations Women, said the participation of Kenyan women in the political processes has been hindered by the government's failure to implement appropriate policies.

"The status of women in Kenya is not as progressive as it should be. There is an understanding of the need to have women play equal roles in the socio-economic and even political development of the country, but there is lack of will and coherent mechanism to actualise this understanding," she told Sabahi.

To reverse that course, Kavuma said, a co-ordinated approach should be taken to enforce laws that accelerate gender equality and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women to encourage them to run for public office.

FIDA said it is not yet sure how many women will run for office in the next elections, but said it would sponsor women candidates across political parties. The group is also engaging in public awareness and civic campaigns to educate the electorate on the importance of having women in leadership positions.