ABSTRACT

Women legislators prioritised and contributed to getting three family Bills passed in Kenya’s National Assembly 2013–2017. This was the first National Assembly in the country to benefit from gender quotas which increased the proportion of women in it from 7.62% in 2007 to 19.5% in 2013. This article examines the history of the family Bills and why women prioritised and supported them. It builds on global evidence that women legislators tend to focus on laws and policies addressing gender equality and social welfare issues. The research data is from a descriptive study of Kenya’s National Assembly 2013–2017 for a PhD thesis. The article establishes that women had a vested interest in and unanimously supported the family Bills, the passage of which mark a significant step towards addressing gender-based discrimination. This finding coheres with literature on women as critical actors to create policy change in line with the Critical Mass Theory. The article recommends that women legislators should initiate action to have existing laws amended so as to comprehensively address women’s rights. It further proposes that women should be represented in the most influential and strategic committees of the legislature.

摘要

2013-2017 年肯尼亚国民议会通过了三项家庭法案，女议员优先考虑并为这些法案做出了贡献。这是该国第一个受益于性别配额的国民议会，其中女性比例从 2007 年的 7.62% 增加到 2013 年的 19.5%。本文探讨了家庭法案的历史以及女性优先考虑和支持它们的原因。它建立在全球证据的基础上，即女性立法者倾向于关注解决性别平等和社会福利问题的法律和政策。研究数据来自肯尼亚国民议会 2013-2017 年博士论文的描述性研究。该条款确立了妇女在家庭法案中拥有既得利益并一致支持该法案，该法案的通过标志着朝着解决基于性别的歧视迈出的重要一步。这一发现与关于女性作为关键参与者的文献相一致，以根据批判大众理论创造政策变革。文章建议女性立法者应采取行动修改现有法律，以全面解决妇女权利问题。它还建议在立法机关最具影响力和战略性的委员会中应有妇女代表。