Women make up a large share of Kenya’s electorate, but patriarchal attitudes and a political culture built around male dominance continue to limit their chances of winning elective positions, Webuye West MP aspirant Faith Wamalwa has said.
Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Wednesday, Wamalwa said the challenge goes beyond the number of women who turn out to vote, arguing that long-held beliefs about male and female leadership often influence voters when choosing candidates.
She said women have been brought up in a society where men are often viewed as stronger, more capable and better suited to leadership, a perception that can affect even women’s choices at the ballot.
“We are living in a patriarchal society. We already have women who prefer men in those positions because men have been presented as superior. Men have been presented as people who know what they do,” Wamalwa said.
Her comments come as women remain under-represented in Kenya’s elective politics despite constitutional provisions on gender equality and increased participation of women in leadership. Female aspirants continue to face social, financial and political challenges as they seek elective positions.
Wamalwa said the nature of political competition has also made it harder for women to compete, with politics increasingly linked to aggression, physical strength and the ability to command groups.
“Politics for a fact has been made to look like a prison for men, a prison for people who have muscle, a prison for people who can fight. And even recently, like you see what happened in Nairobi, like it's, you know, you have to be masculine, you have to be able to fight, you have to have goons,” she said.
She said such expectations create an environment where political strength is often judged through displays of power and physical force, making the contest more difficult for women who want to compete on the basis of their ideas and programmes.
The journalist also pointed to differences in the social experiences of men and women, saying women can bring a different view to political issues because they often consider how decisions affect families and communities.
However, Wamalwa cautioned against reducing the solution to simply asking women to vote for other women. She said the bigger task is to change attitudes towards female leadership, particularly at the grassroots where political and cultural beliefs are formed.
She said women in rural areas need more information about their rights and the opportunities provided under the Constitution, including the provisions meant to improve women’s participation in leadership.
“Who doesn't even know about the two thirds? So it calls upon us to work together with other organisations, together with partners, and build this perception. Try to change the perception. Try to change these cultural beliefs, and then we move upwards.”
Wamalwa nevertheless said female candidates must also earn voters’ confidence by showing that they can effectively represent their communities and by offering clear programmes.
She argued that voters should judge candidates on what they bring to the table rather than simply on whether they are men or women, saying she has supported female candidates when their ideas convinced her.
“I've been in spaces where I've actually voted for women. Why? It is because of what they presented.”
The question of whether women should vote for fellow women points to a wider challenge in Kenyan politics, where having a large female electorate does not automatically result in more women being elected.
Wamalwa said changing that situation will require a wider effort involving women and men, political parties, civil society organisations and other partners. She said the focus should be on challenging cultural beliefs and changing how communities view women seeking political leadership.
According to her, shifting those attitudes at the grassroots would give women seeking elective office a stronger chance of competing and could help increase the number of women taking up political leadership in Kenya