2. The Realities Of Wpp

2. DIFFERENT ROLES PERFORMED BY CSOs AND OTHER PARTNERS IN WPP

Armed with international and regional instruments and frameworks for advancing the cause of gender parity, CSOs have been instrumental in causing major shifts in the country on awareness about women’s rights and their entry into the public arena as political actors, with their voice and presence. For the most recent national elections in Kenya (2017), CSOs provided technical assistance to women candidates, created hotlines for women to report violence, and worked with political parties, the IEBC, and other institutions to help women gain leadership positions [2].

Below is a brief description of the key areas of work that CSOs have undertaken to support WPP in the country, including advocacy, legal and policy reforms, financial support to women aspirants, training and skills transfer, and monitoring and oversight over elections.

(i) Advocacy:

Many organizations have been engaged in community awareness activities in various counties across the country to change the negative perceptions of women in leadership and increase support for women candidates. In 2017, social media campaigns such as #NiMama, #ChaguaDada JengaNchi, #BetterThanThis, and the work of groups such as Tuvuke made important contributions to improving media coverage and raising awareness around women in politics. Some organizations held dialogue sessions that brought together women, community elders, and opinion leaders to look for ways to support women in their campaigns [2].

(ii) Legal and policy reforms:

A respondent during the assessment opined: “Give it (CSOs) credit for driving the agenda of equality and inclusivity. The CSOs are currently active in discussing the changes in gender provisions in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). For example, FIDA, CREAW and others have continuously challenged the Government even in court.”

(iii) Financial support to women aspirants:

One of the key challenges facing women aspirants is the limited financial base they operate from. Men tend to have more networks and seem to mobilize resources more easily. A respondent reported a case in which an aspiring woman MCA sold a cow to generate funds for her campaign, but her husband divorced her when she lost. There have been efforts by some CSOs to support women directly through providing financing. However, given the lack of equity and sustainability of such interventions, there is a need to find different ways to support women candidates in a more meaningful and feasible manner.

(iv) Training and skills transfer:

Several CSOs offer women aspirants and candidates training to enhance their knowledge and capacity to effectively compete, both in their party primaries and in general elections. Some programs target the grassroots level women, including the SIDA funded capacity building program that in 2017 helped identify, train and equip women aspirants with knowledge on elections and equipped them with media engagement skills.

(v) Monitoring and election oversight:

CSOs start monitoring events around elections as soon as the electioneering period kicks off, through the voting process to the installation of elected officials. CSOs, such as Kenya Human Rights Commission, FIDA-Kenya, Katiba Institute, and CREAW, have been at the forefront of calling out political parties and the Government over election malpractices that have disenfranchised political parties aspirants, especially women. Formal petitions by women who feel unfairly treated by their parties and/or the electoral bodies have been launched, some successfully by CSOs.based on their program plans rather than the electorate’s needs. Some Tanzanian CSOs, funded by Northern donors, have been criticised for being more accountable to their donor agencies than the people they serve [4]. The respondents to this assessment opined that all partners should be responsive and address the contextual and actual needs of the women and communities they intend to support rather than impose their programmatic requirements.

3. GAPS IN CSO AND PARTNER SUPPORT TO WPP

(i) Limited coordination:

This is a key challenge for CSOs while implementing WPP activities, leading in some cases to duplication of activities and inadequate use of the meagre resources in the sector. A respondent noted that “CSOs tend to be reactive and unrealistic”, meaning they do not take time to plan, strategize and build alliances. Although it is critical for the mobilization for women who run for office to start early, the CSOs tend "to wait for the women to inform them that they are running for office for them to start working with them. Sometimes this is too late in the day to render effective and winnable support.” Further, it was observed by the respondents that there has been no concrete relationship between women in power and women in CSO leadership, yet such a relationship could proffer gains for the aspirants, including skills and networking linkages.

(ii) Limited resources:

Many CSOs compete for the same resources in an environment where funding for WPP (similar to funding for other CSO activities) has dwindled. This limitation in resources has led to the collapse or near-collapse of well-meaning CSOs keen on working with women, especially those at the grassroots, to join and be active in politics. The key question remains how many development partners are willing to give money to women and shape them to go a particular way that may not be aligned with the male-driven decision-making.

(iii) Challenges of channelling support:

There was a broad-based view among the assessment respondents that the UN, especially the UN Women, has been politicized. One respondent noted: “The UN Women is now operating as a local NGO engaging in local politics. It has a financial allocation for supporting women in politics, but it decides who gets the money.” One opined, “When UN forms political systems that kill women political movements.” This is an issue that requires further assessment and redress.

Some CSOs are considered to be selective in their support for WPP. Their decisions tend not to be demanddriven but based on their program plans rather than the electorate's needs. The respondents to this assessment opined that all partners should be responsive and address the contextual and actual needs of the women and communities they intend to support rather than impose their programmatic requirements.

(iv) The politicization of civil society:

CSOs continue to struggle due to alignment (real or assumed) to particular political persuasions and individual leaders. It is sometimes not easy to differentiate between some political parties and CSOs. This reputational risk has harmed their ability to remain competitive in resource mobilization and in persuading the masses whose voting habits they intend to influence.

(v) Monetization of political processes:

Like everything else in Kenyan society, politics is perceived and approached as a money-making machine. The electorate, the agents, parties and individual aspirants approach the whole process as a way to generate an income – ‘to reap from (or milk) the system”. It was observed by a CSO respondent that “Women sometimes do not value the support provided by CSOs especially if the support is not monetary.”

(vi) The short-term view of WPP:

Activities on WPP tend to pick up close to elections and fizzle out soon after. To develop a strong movement for WPP, there is a need for long-term investment in the communities (e.g. to address socio-cultural and religious perceptions) and in the women aspirants, who sometimes join the political races too late in the day.

...“Women sometimes do not value the support provided by CSOs especially if the support is not monetary.”...

4.RECOMMENDATIONS

The CSO initiatives, including the FAWE project, are important to all aspects and stages of WPP – from nurturing the desire for women to run for political office to running a successful election campaign and ultimately performing the leadership role once elected. The assessment for this policy brief has illustrated the critical ways through which the CSOs have supported WPP in Kenya and the gaps that still exist. Notably, WPP and CSOs operate in the real world, whose outlook is driven by the prevailing social, economic and political interests with implications on all spheres of life. As women’s political interests increase, so does the need for tangible, meaningful and long-term support to WPP. Below are some key recommendations for FAWE and other CSOs supporting WPP.

(i) Take advantage of the intellectual space:

The CSOs (including caucuses and development partners supporting WPP) should compete in the marketplace of ideas. For instance, FAWE could work with partners to organise regular meetings to develop a common agenda for WPP in the country. In addition, instead of giving direct support to aspirants, CSOs and development partners should focus on the electorate – the people that tend to perceive WPP negatively. They could, for instance, focus on providing civic education with a consistent message that ‘women are nurturers, good leaders, resilient and forward-looking’.

(ii) Innovative financing strategy:

Collectively work with partners to develop a campaign fund for women with clear, accountable and equitable support criteria. To ensure the viability of this fund, the women in politics should own the processes and the measures put in place to safeguard the fund. There would need to be a clear plan to ensure the fund's sustainability. The Kenya Women Holding, which is developing such a fund, could be a key partner.

(iii) Partner with political parties:

Although political parties have their challenges, they are still the key vehicles women use to ascend into political office. FAWE and other CSOs should petition the parties to dedicate resources for women candidates and give women concessions and/or implement the concessions provided for in their manifestos. FAWE and other CSOs should monitor the Political Parties Fund (PPF) to ensure fair and equitable allocation to women candidates. There needs to be a focus on support to women with disabilities and those from marginalized communities.

(iv) Democratize and institutionalize engagement with the media:

FAWE could liaise with Parliament (National Assembly, the Senate, and County Assemblies), Media Council, AMWIK, the Editors Guild and other CSOs to develop content for training women political leaders on the role of the media. This would ensure that women politicians understand how to weave their agendas around the operations of the media. Media houses could be helped to develop specific policy guidelines on gender-sensitive language, especially when covering women politicians. There should be continuous training of journalists on the role of women as political leaders so that they can promote the role of women in leadership. This training could also extend to understanding the vulnerability of women with disabilities and how to render meaningful support as aspirants and parliamentarians.

(v) Document the needs of WPP and provide targeted support:

The current approach of some CSOs and partners developing and funding programs without contextualizing the needs of the voters and women politicians needs urgent redress. An assessment of the needs and requirements of the different leaders and communities should be conducted to inform the agenda for WPP. There is a repertoire of secondary data online that could be augmented with targeted assessments (including the situational analysis undertaken by FAWE) to set the agenda for WPP.

REFERENCES

[1]. Mwathi, M. W. (2017) Perceptions of Female Legislators in the 11th Parliament on Media Portrayal of Women Politicians in Kenya. The University of Nairobi.

[2]. A Gender Analysis of the 2017 Kenya General Elections. www.ndi.org.

POLICY BRIEF 3: 3

THE POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON WOMEN AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN KENYA

1. GLOBAL AND REGIONAL COMMITMENTS OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL RIGHTS

Representation of women in politics around the world has grown from the global efforts towards the empowerment of women and enhancing their participation in governance and leadership spaces.

The United Nations Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) defines discrimination against women and asks State Parties to strive to eliminate this vice in all spheres. It notes thus:

Discrimination against women is defined as distinction, exclusion or restriction made on impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, based on equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”

CEDAW calls on States to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country on equal terms with men and specifically to enable women: (a) to vote in all elections and public referenda and to be eligible for election to all publicly elected bodies; (b) to participate in the formulation of government policy, and (c) to participate in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and associations concerned with public and political life. The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is a roadmap that set a critical mass for women representation at 30 per cent as a means of achieving gender equality. Kenya has ratified numerous international treaties that promote gender equality in political representation. These include the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCPRD). The UNCPRD underscores equal rights for people with disabilities (PWDs) to participate in political life. The majority of people (men and women) with disabilities are not enabled to vote by the State. However, it is notable that PWDs are not homogenous and represent different categories of disabilities, including the physical, mental, and hearing impaired.

At the African level, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on women's rights in Africa (the Maputo Protocol), 2003, obligates states to eliminate discrimination against women through appropriate, legislative, institutional and other measures. States are called upon to take positive actions, including special measures to promote the right of women to participate in political and decision-making processes. The Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa (2004) reaffirms the state’s commitment to gender equality and accelerate the ratification of the Maputo Protocol. At the sub-regional level, the East African Community Treaty emphasizes on adherence to good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice. Kenya has not ratified the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance of 2004 that seeks, among other things, to promote gender balance and equality in governance and development process, including holding free and fair democratic elections in Africa.

Once a state ratifies any international, regional or sub-regional treaty, the expectation is to domesticate the same, making it enforceable at the local (domestic) level.

Participants of the WPP situational analysis and policy brief validation meeting pose for a photo at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.

Photo credit: FAWE RS/ Emily Buyaki

2. THE CONSTITUTION OF KENYA AND GENDER EQUALITY

Kenya has ratified numerous international and regional treaties touching on WPP and leadership. These include: (i) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) assented on 23/3/1976; (ii) CEDAW ratified on 9/3/1984; (iii) the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights ratified on 12/12/2003; and (iv) the Protocol to the African Charter on Rights of Women in Africa that was ratified in 2010.

Kenya has put in place electoral laws, rules and regulations, election-monitoring bodies and regulations of political parties to ensure fair, free and credible elections. To accelerate the increase of women in Parliament, the Constitution of Kenya (2010) promotes legislated quotas. Apart from promoting and protecting the political rights of men and women, the CoK 2010 also promotes women’s rights to land, marriage, public participation, inheritance and economic, social and cultural rights. The CoK is well known for its gender equality principle popularly referred to as the …'not more than two-thirds' gender rule.