The ongoing Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) recruitment has left many female candidates complaining over alleged discrimination and unfair hiring practices.
Women who turned up for (KDF) recruitment in Samburu Central, Samburu County were shocked when they realised only one slot was reserved for them.
The exercise, which took place in Maralal recruitment center, had recruiting officers choose one woman out of thousands of recruits who turned up.
"There is no time I've come here and seen women being allowed to enter. But in the newspapers they say that both women and men are allowed to participate. When we come here we're told to relax," said Franka Rekeres, who had missed recruitment for five years consecutively.
Slots are usually reserved for women on the basis of affirmative action as a sign of commitment to gender mainstreaming. In their advertisement, KDF stated that various positions were available for women in different areas of the country.
In 2018, Samburu Recruiting Officer Lt. Richard Onyango, promised that women from the county would be considered in the exercise in the coming years.
Last week, recruiting officers in Embu County claimed that potential female recruits were turned away due to bad dental health attributed to abuse of the khat drug, which is a popular cash crop in the area. Only one woman qualified to join KDF.
Women who have successfully undergone recruitment, however, have expressed immense excitement at the opportunity to serve in Kenya's highly regarded disciplined force.
“This has been my dream job to offer service to the country as frontline personnel,” said Madrine Kariuki, the only female who made the cut in Embu County.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, during the Africa Business Forum on February 10, said that Kenya was working to fully implement the two third gender rule in government, that would enable women have active participation in the government systems.
"I believe women have the same capacity, if not greater capacity than their male counterparts. You leave out women, who compose 50 percent of our population, if not more, you have basically locked out 50 percent of your workforce and reduced your capacity of growth by 50 percent," he said.
The president also highlighted that women must be at the centre of Kenya's development agenda primarily founded by access to education.
"If you support a woman, you have actually supported an entire family. whereas if you support a man, you've supported an individual," he added.
Samburu records among the counties with the lowest school enrolment and education for girls.
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