Beth Syengo is the president of the ODM Women’s League.
Her mandate is to ensure women participate in party activities as well as inclusivity in leadership structures.
Syengo says her mantra for 2022 is ‘taking more women to the ballot’, a strategy she believes will be key in achieving the two-thirds gender rule. She spoke to our special correspondent Tom Mboya.
What is ODM Women's League and what does it stand for?
Gender equality is a key component of ODM. The party believes no society can truly achieve its full potential with women viewed as the ‘insignificant other’.
ODM has a history of fighting against gender discrimination and currently leads in the number of women nominated in various seats in the counties and the National Assembly.
Within the ranks of the party, women occupy critical positions and are trusted with heavy responsibilities, in which they have performed with utmost professionalism. So ODM Women’s League was formed to have women organise themselves as a significant population and as equals in the running of the party affairs.
Most of these formations appear elite and don't have grassroots presence. How different is yours?
ODM Women’s League strength has been in its structures. There is a representation from the national level that is headed by the president to the subcounties. Every ward in this country has an OWL presence and those structures have been very instrumental in making our party leader [Raila Odinga] visible.
Again, similar groups are always active at election time then disappear. How active have you been?
OWL has never stopped working because it is an ODM organ. For the last three years, we have produced and launched an aspirants' training manual that we have been using to train all women hopefuls throughout the country.
We acknowledge and realise that mentorship is laying the future in the hands of a more youthful population in the present. Walking with them to take on certain responsibilities that facilitate their growth and onward preparation and we thus launched the Young Captains. These are female university students drawn from across the country. The league has been involved in numerous humanitarian activities throughout the country. We are an active group.
Seems ODM is keen on the women vote. Is this the case? If yes, elaborate.
Yes, the women vote is our mandate.
By population we are the majority voters. We have so much power as women to define and shape the political trajectory of this country.
I am glad to report that women are finally recognising that we’re the ones we’ve been waiting for. No one is going to change this but us. There’s never been a more powerful opportunity than now as a country across race, across economic experience, across geography, to band together and say, “We believe in the same things, and that’s what we expect from our government”. We have been building our pods and making sure every woman we know is registered to vote. There is no more important time than now.
Mama Ida Odinga recently spoke of women candidates needing more protection from security agencies. How are you addressing this?
First, Mama Ida is the Patron of the Orange Women League and so we have been walking together with her in this journey of empowering women. As a party, we continue to have discussions with the security apparatus in ensuring our women are safe from bullying and electoral violence.
Tell us more about yourself
I am a first born in a family of five, born in the arid area of Mwingi in Kitui county, Eastern Kenya. I went to school when majority of my age mates — mainly girls — could not do so because it was not a priority in my community.
I only happened to be privileged because my father was a police officer and thus had the exposure. Got a job as a teacher but after 10 years in the classroom, I resigned to vie for a parliamentary seat in Mwingi North in 2007. I lost to VP Kalonzo Musyoka and then decided to get into party politics. I ran as the ODM Women League president and won in 2012, a position I hold to date.
The women league is an organ created under Article 6.3.14 and 7.9 of the ODM constitution to articulate women issues.
I hold a Masters of Arts in Community Development and a Bachelors Degree in Education from Kenyatta University. I am an expert in community development and transformational education and training.
I have served in various boards of corporate entities including KMTC, Maendeleo ya Wanawake , Red Cross and NACOTEC among others.
As the President of ODM Women’s League, I have been in the front line in party leadership making sure that women participate in party activities as well as make their voices heard .
