2.2 The Situation in Kenya

1.2 Purpose, Objectives, and Questions

The overall objective of this assignment was to conduct a situational analysis on women’s political participation in Kenya and develop country specific papers to inform implementation of the WPP project. Specifically:

i. Research and situational analyses to highlight contemporary issues of relevance to women’s political participation in Africa; ii. Knowledge generated from the research and analyses to provide various categories of women actors with fresh evidence and perspectives for advancing the cause of participation in decision-making; iii. Women’s Political Participation and the strategic use of research evidence to add to efforts at building a fairer society that places prime value on their role and contribution

To respond to the above research objectives, the team sought to answer the following questions: i. What are some of the key contemporary issues affecting and are relevant to women’s political participation in Kenya? ii. What available/new data & evidence can we generate to guide/inform women political participation? iii. How can strategic use of data and evidence for decision making improve women’s role and place in politics? iv. Are there any new/fresh perspectives we can provide to various categories of women actors for advancing the cause of participation in decision-making in

Kenya? v. How can improved women’s political participation support building of a fairer society that places prime value on women’s role and contribution? vi. How can policy briefs and media articles on the status of women in political participation in Kenya be used for advocacy purposes?

1.3 Review Audience and Stakeholders across Kenya

The following are the review audience and stakeholders:

Parliament: Parliament as a law-making body is a key citadel in originating and maintaining the legal regime of women’s participation in politics. It is, therefore, a key stakeholder in ensuring gender parity in politics and public space in Kenya. We, therefore, targeted include selected Kenya female parliamentarians.

Independent Institutions: Independent institutions are key bodies in promoting and protecting the rights of women’s participation in politics . In this category, we interviewed the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR);

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs): CSOs, particularly women’s rights organisations, have consistently played a pivotal role in expanding the space for women in politics and representation. The following organisations were contacted and responded to the key informant interview schedule (KII) - Oxfam, National Democratic Institute (NDI), Center for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), Legal Resources Foundation (LRF), and Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM).

Women Political Activists: Selected Women Political Leaders (National, County, and Sub County); Women Political Leaders (Regions, Districts, and Divisions) were contacted. The opinion of the following categories of leadership was sought; Party leaders, Female Members of Parliaments & County Assemblies. FAWE Regional Secretariat: FAWE is working closely with its national chapter in Kenya to implement the project. The program also works with other national chapters and partners in Botswana, DRC, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Eswatini, and other national chapters based in Africa, putting them at the forefront of women’s rights in Africa. The consultants, therefore, sought the views of the regional leadership, WPP team and FAWE coordinators in Kenya.

1.4 Review Methodology

Working closely with the WPP team at FAWE, the review team from CRI used a mixed-methods approach combining different techniques for both secondary and primary data collection. To provide a rich contextual background study, they critically analysed secondary sources of information. The sources comprised a comprehensive review of relevant literature and project documents. Methods for primary data entailed interviews with different stakeholders including, KIIs and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The interviews were conducted using interview schedules, FGD guides or a checklist of issues crafted to ensure the collection of relevant information.

Purposive sampling was used to identify the appropriate respondents in Kenya, particularly in getting data from the target groups. KIIs and FGDs were conducted with persons considered strategic in their participation in and appreciation of the WPP project. As such, the KIIs targeted both internal and external stakeholders. The following data collection methods were employed in this assessment;

The table below contains a complete breakdown of the review techniques for this exercise. It is important to note that the review adopted a purely qualitative approach.

1.4.1 Review Techniques or Data Collection Methods

Table I: Review Techniques

Technique/Step

1. Literature review & document analysis

Focus Tools/means

Assessed state/level of women participation in politics in Kenya, successes, constraints, threats and opportunities for strengthening women participation..

Desk review informed by a document analysis guide.

Note: The relevant project documents e.g. project proposal and related reports were analysed for insights & perspectives.

2. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs)

3. Online reviews Conducted targeted interviews with selected stakeholders for key informant interviews at county/ district, sub-national and national levels. Zoom, Skype or phone calls. Persons who were considered knowledgeable about women’s rights were interviewed for insights on these areas.

Analysis of previous attempts or efforts in promoting women participation in politics. Links, websites, podcasts, blogs and online reports.

4. Focused group discussions with selected experts and

WPP team Review, discuss and make recommendations on what needs to be done. These will also serve as spaces for experience sharing and lesson learning Zoom, Google Meet or Skype;

Note I: Persons who were considered strategic to WPP were also approached for their insights regarding the macro level of issues within the project.

Note II: Discussions were held with staff to explore key project design and implementation. The team also examined the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT).

5. Data analysis Data coding, interpretation and analyses CRI team plus analytical tools

6. Reflections with WPP team at FAWE These will take the form of validation meetings to build consensus with WPP at FAWE and relevant partners or stakeholders. Zoom, Google Meet, Skype

7. Reporting Inception, draft and final reports CRI team

1.4.2 Data Analysis

The consultants read through each of the FGD and KII transcripts to identify both the expected and emergent/unexpected themes. Two analytical approaches were triangulated: systematic code-throughcontent analysis and ethnographic summary. First, consultants used simple descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages to display a level of consensus/dissent and response patterns across the focus groups and individual participants. Secondly, the descriptive data helped situate emergent themes in a more meaningful context, thus validating any inferences about the consensus level. Thirdly, the analysis provided an ethnographic summary through direct quotes illustrative of key themes selected from the transcripts and woven together with an accompanying narrative explanation. Selected stories of change are included to augment the collected data.

Purposive sampling was used to identify the appropriate respondents, particularly in getting data from the target groups. KIIs and FGDs were conducted with persons considered strategic in their participation in and appreciation of the WPP program. As such, the KIIs targeted both internal and external stakeholders.

1.4.3 Sampling Procedures

Category/Institutions

Parliament

Independent Institutions

NGOs/CSOs

Political Activists

County or local government

FAWE

Kenya

Female MPs

KNCHR

INGOs: Oxfam, AAIK, NDI NGOs: CMD, LRF, FIDA FBOs: SUPKEM, NCCK

Women Political Leaders

Female MCAs

RO leadership WPP team FAWE CEO

1.4.4 Validation of Draft Report

Importantly, the study findings were synthesized and compiled into a draft report shared with the FAWE team for review and later discussed in a validation workshop held on 9th and 11th March 2021 in Nairobi. The feedback from both reviews was incorporated to improve/strengthen the final report.

Responses

- 2

- 1

- 3 - 3 - 2

- 5

- 3

- 2 - 5 - 1

1.5 Study Limitations/Risks and Mitigation Measures

The research team took all reasonable measures to mitigate any potential risks to delivering the required outputs of this consultancy on time and strove to meet the expected quality standards. The consultants assumed that the risks to the success of the review ranged between low and medium. They are principally concerned with the ability of the team to gain access to the target population. Given that we engaged through participatory approaches and with project managers and implementers at FAWE, the research team could mitigate the risks. The team was also able to tap into CRI networks and partners across Kenya for good stakeholder engagement and additional reference materials, including videos from FIDA and CMD, as well as recent reports from Oxfam and Tanzania’s Policy Forum. In the outlay below, the team outline the limitations/risks, their impact and how they were mitigated.

Limitations/Risks Focus Tools/means

Risk 1:

Collecting data from stakeholders in Kenya was quite challenging owing to new and heightened

political and legal restrictions

requiring clearance before engaging citizens in this kind of research. High: Because the political environment was so hostile and implications tougher, actors were reluctant to offer information or present themselves to be interviewed. We explored and relied on FAWE, AIHD, and CRI networks and personal contacts. The research team used their connections & relationships with some stakeholders in mobilization and convincing participants to engage and share information freely.

The hostile political environment in Kenya greatly affected rate return as most invited participants did not respond.

Risk 2:

Reports and documents for desk research may not be readily available. Low: Our previous experience shows that sometimes there could be a slow or poor response to such requests.

Risk 3:

CSO/NSA interviews senior staff and partners may not be available during chosen period/times. Medium: Our experience is that senior actors have many other commitments and may not be available when needed. We solicited documents and data as early as possible, indicating the types of documents and data required, and worked with the WPP team at FAWE for proactive followup as necessary. As a result, we got all the necessary documents. We also used our contacts to acquire additional materials, as mentioned above.

We identified and contacted potential interviewees early enough to find suitable times for consultations, which allowed enough flexibility to accommodate existing commitments and schedules of senior partners or stakeholders.

Limitations/Risks Focus Tools/means

Risk 4: Feedback and approval of drafts by FAWE team may take longer than predicted. Medium: our experience is that multiple stakeholders can be difficult to mobilise quickly for feedback. Because of delays in receiving filled questionnaires back for those who opted for self-administration and delayed interviews, we sought a one-month extension, which helped us conclude the discussions and report writing. Though we had these delays, we ensured we were within the timelines of submitting required reports.

Risk 5: COVID19 Restrictions The study was conducted at a time of soaring numbers of COVID 19 cases. Medium: This, therefore, underscored the need to observe physical distancing, prompting most of the interviews to be conducted virtually for both Kenya and Tanzania. Further, some of the target respondents (especially elected women leaders) were not readily available for direct online interviews. As a result, the data collection took slightly longer than anticipated since the consultants had to use mailed questionnaires to reach as many respondents as possible. Unfortunately, most of the mailed questionnaires were not returned.

Chapter Two : Review Results on Status and Trends

2.1 Regional Overview - Africa

According to UN Women, women’s leadership and political participation are restricted worldwide and in Africa, leading to under-representation of women as voters/candidates and in leadership positions, whether in elected office, the civil service, the private sector or academia. This sidelining occurs despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change and their right to participate equally in democratic governance. Gender equality advocates had further reason to celebrate when Catherine Samba-Panza was sworn in on 23 January 2014 as interim President of the Central African Republic (CAR), making her the fourth African female head of state. The first was Ruth Perry, who headed the Liberian transitional government for about a year from September 1996. The third was former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, who was elected into office in 2006, while the fourth was Malawi’s first female President, Joyce Banda, in 2012. Regrettably, Ms Banda, the second woman to be seated as President, became the first to be unseated when she lost the elections. Some say it was a retaking of power by loyalists of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika (www.africa.unwomen.org).

Africa has witnessed a flattering rise in women’s political participation, as assessed by Kingsley Ighobor in the Africa Renewal Journal of April 2015. “One of the fascinating developments in African politics has been the increase in women’s political participation since the mid-1990s,” writes Aili Mari Tripp, a professor of gender and women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA. Besides the four female heads of state (mentioned above), Ms Tripp bases her upbeat assessment on the increasing number of women parliamentarians on the continent. Indeed, with 64 per cent of seats held by women, Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians globally. Senegal, Seychelles and South Africa have more than 40 per cent each, and Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania and Uganda are not far off, with women occupying over 35 per cent of all parliamentary seats. Considering that women hold only 19 per cent of the USA Congress and 20 per cent of the Senate, Ms Tripp maintains that Africa has every right to be proud. In her exiting analysis, she did not capture that in the USA and Europe, women hold top positions beyond Parliament, in ministries, military and other top government departments, which is not the case in most African countries 2 .

As countries seek to implement SDG 5, “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls,” governments must also strive to embed gender parity in constitutions and legal frameworks. They must fully comply with the law, eliminate all forms of violence against women and ensure that girls receive a quality education. However, Afrobarometer surveyed women’s political participation in 34 African countries. Afrobarometer are a research group that measures public perceptions of socio-economic and political issues in Africa, and they carried out this research. It notes that while countries such as Rwanda and South Africa may have numerically significant women parliamentary representation, some of the world’s worst performers are also on the continent. For example, women have only 6.2 per cent representation in Swaziland, 6.7 per cent in Nigeria and 8.4 per cent in Benin 3 . Nevertheless, the good news is that most Africans (72 per cent) agree that women should have the same chance of being elected to political office as men (Afrobarometer 2019). The problem, again, is that this majority opinion on gender equality does not exist in some parts of the continent. While 74 per cent of respondents in East Africa believe in women’s equality and 73 per cent in Southern Africa, only 50 per cent in North Africa agree that women should have the same rights as men. Women’s leadership was rejected by 53 per cent of respondents in Sudan and by 50 per cent in Egypt 4. There are many reasons why women’s political participation is the key to good governance. Experts say women are key to the new breed of politicians who will offer Africa the opportunity to advance democracy in the continent.

2. UN Women (2019) on Leadership and Women Political Participation in Africa (accessed 07.12.20) Interestingly, the four female African leaders assumed office during crises or transitions. Ms Sirleaf was elected after a 13-year devastating civil war. Ms Banda was Vice President and took over after President Bingu wa Mutharika died in office. Ms Samba-Panza was sworn in amid rebellion and sectarian violence in the CAR. Ms Perry headed the interim government following ceasefire negotiations that ended almost two decades of war (UN Women 2019).

Ironically not everyone believes women leaders are remarkably different from their male counterparts. Some observers say that countries in Africa where women are leaders have not always been beacons of good governance. But the reasons for this are deep-rooted and may be beyond the leadership capabilities of such female leaders. Satang Nabanech, a women’s rights advocate and attorney from the Gambia, lists several social, cultural and economic barriers that inhibit women’s ability to make significant political changes. Ms Nabanech cites patriarchal politics or a belief that men must naturally make decisions and that the place for a woman is the home. In addition, most women often lack skills, education and experience to survive in politics, Ms Nabanech says, having been denied opportunities to go to school over the years. She also underscores the cost of politics, stressing that politics is expensive and many women lack the financial wherewithal to succeed. “It is difficult for women to participate in political life when their major concern is survival, and they have no choice but to spend much of their time trying to fulfil the basic needs of families.” Violence in African politics is yet another factor that may also discourage participation. Generally, women feel “a sense of vulnerability to political intimidation and violence,” notes the Afrobarometer survey 5. In Guinea, for instance, 64 per cent of women say they are very concerned about political intimidation.