The Historical Journey of Women’s Leadership in Kenya.

Abstract

This article presents the historical journey of Kenyan women towards leadership and fair representation in social-economic and political sphere. The movements have a humble beginning from self-help groups during pre-independent period. The landmark was the formation of Maendeleo ya Wanawake (MYWO) organization in 1952, which is still a powerful grassroots' women's organization across the country. In the following years, women's movements in Kenya expanded and specifically focused on enhancing women's participation in leadership in appointive and elective bodies. Of great concern was the creation of institutional frameworks for mainstreaming gender through policies and legislation and ensuring the issues were taken on board the new constitution that was being negotiated from 1992-2010. Key achievements have been the establishment of national and institutional gender policies, National Gender Commission, a ministry in charge of women Affairs, Children and Social Services, publication of the Sexual Offences Act (2007), inclusive constitution making process and the provision of not more than one third of either gender in appointments and elective posts among many other gains. Although the journey has been steep and the processes challenging, the gains made say it all: 'the end justifies the means'. Keywords: Historical, Journey, Women, Leadership, Kenya.