The Canadian government has pumped over Ksh556 Million (USD5 million) towards supporting female leaders in Kenya.
Through a series of meetings held on Tuesday, November 2, United Nations Women in Kenya lobbied female political leaders across the country to take up leadership posts in order to benefit from the fund set aside by the Canadian government.
The fund is aimed at strengthening the capacities of female would-be leaders as well as engaging other important influencers such as the mainstream media, political parties, and the nation’s voters to support more female political representation.
It also aims at ending vices meted against women in elections and supporting the survivors.
One of the key initiatives of the project will be to air a second season of the ‘Ms President’ reality TV show. The upcoming production will challenge social norms and stereotypes that exclude women from leadership.
The 2022 programme is set to reach at least 3.5 million viewers through broadcast and digital platforms. The analysis of the reach will be used to analyse the reception among women and the preparation to take up leadership roles.
Speaking during the event, UN Women Kenyan Representative Anna Mutavati encouraged women to take up leadership positions in the upcoming 2022 General Election.
"We need to have more women, especially young women, take up leadership positions. Step up and be counted. Kenya leads in a lot of aspects on the continent except women leadership. This needs to change," she stated.
“In order to address the issue of the unequal representation of women in Kenya’s political system, we must address both its structural barriers but also engage with cultural norms and barriers that exist in society. This project will better position aspiring leaders within Kenya’s political system while at the same time leverage the country’s mass media to re-shape outdated visions of women’s ability to lead," Mutavati stated during the launch of the programme.
Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes Rachel Shebesh noted that 21 counties have attracted female lawmakers who are set to vie for gubernatorial positions.
"We have strong women vying for gubernatorial positions in 21 counties, the list keeps growing ahead of 2022, we're fully behind them," Shebesh remarked.
This came even as the government had announced its readiness to protect female legislators against animosity during the 2022 General Election.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i directed all security agencies to ensure that women aspiring to take up various political seats are well protected.
