Nairobi county First Lady has called on female members of parliament not to give up on the gender bill.
Primrose Mbuvi further challenged the male counterparts to come out in numbers in support of the bill as a show of support for women.
She spoke on Friday during the International women’s day celebrations at Pumwani maternity hospital.
Failure by women MPs to lobby their male colleagues saw the elusive two-thirds gender rule bill flop for a record fourth time last month, with the National Assembly failing to marshal enough numbers to vote on it.
“I encourage men in the assembly to support the gender bill. Every time the bill comes for a vote they walk out leading to lack of quorum,” Mbuvi said.
Women legislators should not get tired of pushing for this bill and we urge all men of good will to come up and support it the next time it comes up for voting,” she said.
The bill seeks to bridge the gender disparity in the House by amending the Constitution to allow for extra nomination slots for women.
Out of the 75 women lawmakers in the National Assembly, only about 20 were in the House, raising questions about the commitment of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (Kewopa), chaired by Kirinyaga Woman Representative Purity Ngirici, to the rule.
The Constitution provides that at least 233 of the 349 MPs, two-thirds of the members, must be in the House before the Speaker puts the question on the motion. Consequently, the 233 members must proceed to vote on the bill to allow it to proceed to the next stage.
The bill can now only be reintroduced after six months, according to House standing orders.
Mbuvi, however, praised the transformation of Pumwani Maternity Hospital by Governor Mike Sonko, but urged the county government to invest in smaller health centres in order to reduce pressure on Pumwani, Mbagathi, Mama Lucy and Kenyatta National Hospital.
“I am happy to see all the positive developments that have taken place at Pumwani Maternity Hospital. This is no longer the Pumwani that we used to know. It now looks neat and much more attractive. Similar effort needs to go to the other county health facilities as well,” she said.
She also hailed the Beyond Zero Marathon spearheaded by the country’s First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, saying the initiative plays an important role in improving maternal healthcare.
The event was organised by the office of Nairobi City County First Lady in conjunction with the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union.