Affirmative action depicts women as weaker sex

Quota? Are women really a minority to deserve affirmative action?

Updated: Monday, July 25, 2011
Story by: MEEME JOSHUA

“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things” - Niccolo Machiavelli

Nothing could be more apt and spot-on than this Machiavellian quote during this debate of women representation and proposal of quota system. But the question that we should try to answer is, are women really marginalized? Are women really a special group? Are they the minority?

Whether man or woman, right down in our hearts we know the answers. Human beings naturally dread change at a personal level but at the same time want others to change. Change creates a void of past practices and status quo, hence creates chaos as different aspects of life rush in to fill the vacuum.

When the Constitution was being changed, many people viewed the change in respect to how it was going to affect others as opposed to how the new order was going to change their systems, daily routines, way of life and sense of self-worth. Men and women are slaves of inertia. Any change that affect us must be opposed.

In highly male dominated society, women empowerment is usually vehemently opposed. Increasing women representation in elective positions has specifically rubbed men folk the wrong way. Fear and suspicion now characterize reactions we are witnessing.

No revolution, though has completed without vicious counter-reactions. Not this one. Now men folk want to sneak a progressive argument to achievement of one-third threshold of either gender to avoid legal backlash from women activists. But do women really deserve special treatment?

No doubts women have been under-represented in Parliament. But they are the majority in terms of demographical statistics. But women are their own enemies! Putting a caveat on selected constituencies would infringe on the rights of people to choose their favored candidates irrespective of gender. To achieve this constitutional quota, calls for more than just assigning particular constituencies as exclusive women areas.

The one-third threshold women must be achieved through educating more women to come out and vie. Civic education should also be directed to women folk in showing them the need to appreciate their fellow women in leadership. In reality, even in appointive posts if women fail to apply for particular position there is no way the one-third threshold can be achieved. It is time to educate women to have faith and trust on their fellow counterparts.

Women should also have a paradigm shift and break away from the the belief that they weaker sex and therefore should be treated as marginalized. Women should come out and fight for both elective and appointive positions. If women could elect their female counterparts, the representation could be much higher than one-third stipulated in the Constitution. However, women seem to know something about other women that men folk are not aware of. Could it be that women know something about their own deficiency and capacity to lead that men folk do not?

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Indeed, affirmative action should be defined in terms of regions: in areas like Central Kenya and Ukambani men are the marginalized and deserve the benefit of affirmative action. Sorry women are as equal and able as men only if they change the attitude.

joshmemento@yahoo.com