Gender Issues in Kenya

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Gender Issues in the New Constitution of Kenya The gender gains provided for in the Constitution of Kenya provide a begin point for Kenya in providing a legal backing for ensuring equal enjoyment by women and men of socially valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. It is important to underline that these gender provisions are just a beginning point and that more efforts and political will are needed for the laws to be fully functional in the day-to-day life of men and women. Some of the important gender provisions in the Constitution of Kenya are as follows: 1.0 Representation in Decision Making Organs The new Constitution of Kenya has made a major step towards ensuring gender equity in major decision making organs. This is an important step because historically in Kenya, women have always been under-represented in decision making at major levels of governance. It is important to note that even though these provisions don’t give a fifty-fifty gender balance, a considerable representation of both gender and especially of women has been guaranteed in the key decision making organs at different levels of leadership and governance. This can be examined further in the following decision making levels: 1.1 National Assembly In the new Constitution, the National Assembly is an essential decision making organ of the country. It determines national revenue allocation, appropriates funds for expenditure by the national government, and exercises oversight for national revenue and its expenditure (Article 95). The National Assembly also acts as a check-control for the executive and exercises oversight of State organs (Article 95 (5)). It is therefore a very important decision making organ of the country that has to be engendered for the overall realization of gender empowerment and gender equality. In the composition of the national assembly, 47 seats have
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