Blog 10: Kenyan Women Are Taking Advantage of their New Rights

In 2010 Kenya adopted a new constitution that recognized women and altered certain laws of parliament and how parliament represents women. According to recent polls regarding representation of women in government, they are only at 9.8%. Because of the new constitution, women were expected to vote and to make a difference for the country. The head of the National Gender and Equality Commission was interviewed and asked questions regarding women and voting. Some believe that women is Kenya should not be allowed to vote and are wondering how they could benefit the Kenyan government. Since the change in the constitution two years ago, many are looking for proof of womens contributions to the government. Seeing that women have been discriminated against for years, it's hard for them to jump right into government and change everything in two years. That's asking too much. Many men are also wondering if women are ready to compete with their male counterparts in parliament.

Women in Kenya, and all throughout Africa, have long been repressed and discriminated against simply because of their gender. Their new ability to vote is astounding and is a huge step for women's rights in Africa. Telling them that they should have changed things and made progress for their gender in parliament in two years is ridiculous and is expecting too much. I think women are ready for this change despite the idea that women are unfit to make decisions for a country. People in Kenya just need to get used to the idea and become more open minded by realizing that women have opinions and thoughts that can be beneficial to a country. The next generation of politicians and citizens will appreciate the change eventually. It will be good for the country.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201211021223.html?viewall=1