The eight elected women to the Nakuru County Assembly today appealed to the government and NGOs to shift gender meetings from urban areas to the grassroots where they are most required in order to advance the 2030 vision and the achievement of the two-thirds gender rule.
Mrs Rose Njoroge Gilgil MCA and Deputy Majority Leader, who spoke on their behalf said for far too long, the discussion on gender issues has continued to be held in town and city hotels. And, it was time they were relocated to the rural areas where a majority of the voters reside.
She was speaking Friday during the official launch of the women in leadership and decision-making technical working committee at a Nakuru hotel.
The Deputy Majority leader said the reference to the high number of women elected in the county as ‘’Nakuru Girls’’, although used in jest, was a label they were proud to wear because it was a great achievement for the county.
Rose urged other counties to replicate the historic achievement of Nakuru County in order to meet the constitutional threshold of the two-third gender rule instead of nominating more women, to Parliament and county assemblies which burdens the taxpayers.
During last year’s general election, the county elected a woman governor, five women members of parliament, and eight MCAs out of the 55 wards in the county.
However, she said there was an urgent need for the counties to address the alleged exclusion, and continued disempowering of women, which has made a number of voters perceive women negatively.
Furthermore, she commended the Nakuru women voters for demystifying the commonly held narrative that ‘women were their worst enemies’ by coming out in large numbers and supporting their gender.
She said as a head teacher in Gilgil primary schools her devotion and higher passing grades for the schools she headed made her noticeable to the community, and they persuaded her to contest for the MCA seat.
She urged women to always endeavor to stand out and be visible in whatever work they are doing, even if it is cleaning. And, do it extremely well to the point of being noticed by passers-by so as to elevate their status in society.
Also, she said women are powerful agents of change and there’s extensive research that links diversity and gender equality to sustainable development. “The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence should be domiciled at the grassroots, where it was most needed,” she added.
