Careers

 Building careers in politics: A case of the younger and older female political aspirants in Kenya.

By Talitha Olisa

WOMEN the world over are progressively seeking leadership positions and Kenya is not left behind. We are increasingly witnessing a surge of women in Africa both young and old seeking to occupy leadership positions as presidents, governors, senators’ woman representatives and MCAs. Kenya since the promulgation of the Constitution 2010, has seen more gender sensitive parliaments with women, young and old taking a lead in debates and representing their constituencies. Older women seeking public office were once young although spaces that exist for younger female politicians seeking office were not available to them then. They have had to work extremely hard to break structures of patriarchy and stereotypes that have been a hindrance to female leadership.

The young female aspirants may need to go back to retrace the history of women pathfinders and their contribution and struggles that opened the political spaces they now enjoy after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Many of the older women seeking political office in Kenya’s general election, 2022 were once young and restless. Had the spaces that exist for young female political aspirants existed for them then, they would have participated and made great contributions in politics. That notwithstanding, they worked hard and achieved their diplomas, doctorate, and undergraduate degrees. Some attained, Masters and PhD degrees against all odds when women faced unbreakable patriarchal systems that favored male offspring over the female. They have sterling achievements and experience gained over the years in public service in various capacities earned from sheer merit.

While we welcome the inclusion and participation of the young women leaders, they must be careful not to fall into the same trap that has for years relegated women from active participation and contribution in politics. It is a shame that some of them are using the same strategies that have been used by men to bring down fellow women and deny them political inclusion. Gender empowerment and equal opportunities are essential features for an egalitarian society and not a preserve of the youth female aspirants alone. It is worrying to see the negative remarks and comments made by some of the young contestants against the older women who are vying for similar positions in Kenya.

Older women seeking elective positions at all levels face numerous obstacles in achieving political representation. They include Gender inequality, cultural attitudes, unfounded scandals and misinformation about the aspirants, body shaming, social media attacks and harassment and unjust electoral systems all of which subjugate women and limit their representation in public life. While there may be institutional and social cultural barriers to women’s political power across the globe, we see a new threat to democracy in this age of social media where we witness violence against older women in politics by younger female aspirants.

These attacks and slander some youthful female political aspirants are meting out on social media are intended to frighten, depress, and constrain older able women from seeking political office. They are using social media pages, some theirs and others of known male bloggers and bullies not only to highlight their leadership agenda but to manipulate voters and muzzle the voices of other older female aspirants and include trolling and sexualized gender misinformation – using the social media and the internet as the new public space to spread falsehood and private lives of women- which is a new form of attack on democracy. The men affirm them by commenting on how beautiful and young they are and that it is time for the youth to rise and push out old retirees from the ‘competition’. They dot them with sweet nothings like ‘baby- girl’ ‘princesses’, ‘beautiful’, ‘Atoti’, and praising them for ‘how huge and beautiful their b*obs and bodies are’, and they are falling for this. Young female aspirants, please wake up and reflect on whether you have really been called into leadership and what it pertains. Are these really the attributes for sound and transformative leadership?

Young, daring, and restless female aspirants sadly who are using “ageism “to attack older female aspirants are misinformed, ignorant and naïve. Yet they in the same breath champion much older male aspirants and urge them to stay in office and even vie for the topmost position. Although it may appear an invisible kind of discrimination and can be dismissed as insignificant, it is increasingly being used in social media platforms to degrade older female aspirants. Many of them may not even be on social media and may therefore be unable to respond but that is no reason for hiding behind digital platforms to spread stereotypes that work unconsciously and contribute to such discrimination against diverse individuals. Young female aspirants must be called out and made to understand that ageism like gender, ethnicity and class is an aspect of social structure that involves differential and discriminatory treatment. May all the female aspirants be judged not on stereotypes such as age! Using ageism to fight political competitors amounts to patronage and interiorizations that excludes the older aspirants. How does one mentor youths who are high on insults, disrespect and self-entitlement? The young come with energy and innovations which coupled with experience from the more seasoned women can transform the society for the betterment of all.

May all the young female aspirants be encouraged to uplift and affirm all women regardless of their age or background! All aspirants should be judged based on their ability, potential, experience, manifesto and what they propose to achieve for the women they hope to represent. Ironically, none of these young female aspirants is using ageism to attack male politicians. You will be amazed to see numerous photos on their posts where they are posing with the male politicians, many of them much older in their 60s, 70s and 80s - so much older women aspirants they make snide remarks about. What double standards! Simply unbelievable!

TalithaCorrespondence1@copyright 4/2/2022

Women and the Political Landscape 2022