Something I have observed in politics is that in most cases there is very little attempt at understanding the opponents’ perspective or communicating effectively.
The quest for women’s empowerment has not been spared this. You will rarely find, in politics or the NGO world or even within specific communities, any appreciation of what it will take for women as a long-marginalised gender to be enabled to exercise the full benefits of citizenship.
The oversimplification of the term “women's empowerment” has resulted in an expectation of undying gratitude from women at being enabled to get a pittance, while withholding the means for self-actualisation.
Politics, when defined as the way people living together make planned decisions, is essential in facilitating women's empowerment. Politics can however be very hazardous for women to dare to participate.
I believe there is no woman who has vied for any elective post in Kenya's general elections who has not been a victim of gender-specific insults. The objective of this is to neuter the all-important political power that is required to enable the empowerment of women.
The attacking of the character of the women candidate discredits both the messenger and the message. It also distracts and redirects attention from the moot points while psychologically weakening the candidate.
Technology and social media have enabled greater online attacks on women candidates who daily experience 54 per cent misinformation, 54 per cent trolling, 36 per cent sexual body shaming and 54 per cent insults and hate speech.
If those who often put roadblocks to women's empowerment understood it better, perhaps they would support it.
What are the pillars of women's empowerment?
The first pillar, in my view, is education. It is only through education that women can acquire the tools needed for their own political and economic emancipation. This all-important pillar has however only recently been prioritised.
In many traditional Kenyan communities, in the past years, fathers tended to reserve their limited resources for the education of their sons. The argument was that their sons would look after them, effectively serving as some kind of insurance policy for their old age. While daughters were likely to end up living elsewhere with their husbands and belonging to the husband’s community rather than that which they grew up in.
It has taken years of lived experience for Kenyan families to realise that a devoted daughter, married or not, can be equally capable of aiding parents in their old age.
Economic strength is the second pillar of women's empowerment. This involves the management of existing and incoming resources effectively and prudently for the household's benefit. This requires a certain level of education and knowledge for success.
Further to this there must be an acquisitive ability of finance and wealth creation to further the family fortunes. Only then can the woman be said to be empowered and thereby have the ability to ensure the sustainability of the family.
In Kenya currently, despite the women population being 52 per cent, the total number of formal businesses owned by women stands at 31.4 per cent. In the agricultural sector, women provide 85 per cent of the labour force. These statistics are yet to translate into empowerment of women to the degree required for sustainable wholesome families as would be desired.
The third pillar is the cultivation of extensive social networks. This entails forming linkages to various groups with similar objectives to have strength in numbers. This is essential in the pooling of resources and in governance advocacy. If well managed, it brings about both financial and political strength. It is also important that these networks are engaged in social projects that result in better facilities in education, health and infrastructure.
In elective politics women have not fared well, winning the following: Governor 15 per cent, senator six per cent, member of National Assembly 10 per cent and member of county assembly eight per cent of the seats in the last general election.
With even minor advances in the participation of women in public life being celebrated as meaningful progress, it seems to me that the enhanced role of women in public life through real and effective empowerment is going to be a very long process.