Lafey MP aspirant Amran Wardere has termed clan backing as a system that doesn’t support women leadership, saying men are given an upper hand.
Amran, who holds a Bachelor of Commerce and was the first female union president in the history of Egerton university, says she was blocked from attending the clan meeting where aspirants were deliberated on.
“After a breakthrough, I attended the meeting. I was told to step down for other aspirants which I refused and am poised to reach the ballot,” Amran said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Out of the eight aspirants, Amran was the only woman. She says it’s hard for women to vie for these seats with elders barring women to lead.
“It’s high time elders allow us to be part of decision-making because we have respected them enough and followed them for long and they are not trying to uplift us. We will fight for our rights,” she said.
Amran will battle it out for the Lafey MP seat with the incumbent Abdi Mude and aspirant Mohamed Abdikheir for a region that is troubled by insecurity with constant threats form al Shabaab militia since the area neighbours Somalia.
It is also marred by inter clan clashes, high maternal mortality rate, poor road networks, poor healthcare system and almost non-existent drought mitigation programmes.
Negotiated democracy saw Abdul Hajji elected unopposed after the demise of his father, a system Amran feels should uplift women.
“A woman doesn’t destroy, we nurture, we don’t take what’s meant for the poor or persons with disability. A Woman MP office with a small budget for a whole county is not sufficient,” Amran added.
In North Eastern, Ijara MP Sofia Abdinoor was the first female MP elected. She garnered 6,001 votes against her rival Ahmed Ibrahim who polled 5,705 votes in the last general election.
Mandera Governor Ali Roba flatly refused negotiated democracy in 2017 and came up with his lineup. He won against gubernatorial aspirant and now Education CAS Hassan Noor Hassan.
Halima Ali Shina who ran for Woman MP in the last election said the elders only give women the slot allocated to them by the constitution and not MP, senator or governor.
"Last general election, the first Wajir Woman MP Fatuma Ibrahim applied for Tarbaj MP seat but was rejected by the elders and the seat was given to Ahmed Bashane who won.
"Why not a gubernatorial spot, why not? We want to run for those offices," Shina said.
Wajir Youth MCA Meimuna Said says the society is adjusting slowly to women leadership but the clan elders have to endorse women aspirants in the coming election.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)
